To Be Queen
by ClosetFMAfan
Summary: Alphonse Elric only sought to get a little piece of the dreams he had before the Great War tore the world apart. Traveling to Xing to pursue a study of alkahestry, however, became much more complicated when he found himself ensnared in betrayal, politics, centuries old hatred, rebellion, and love.
1. Chapter 1

_7 April 1975_

Harold DeWitt knew from the time he was three years old that he was destined to be a reporter. His mother used to tell the story that when he was old enough to really understand words and what they meant, he heard his father talking about the _Eastern Herald_. He had demanded to know what the _Eastern Herald_ was, and his father had told him that it was a newspaper. Upon asking what a newspaper was, he answered that it was something that people read when they wanted to know what was happening in the world.

Then Harold had demanded to know why they had named a newspaper after him.

Everyone in the family would roar with laughter when that story was retold and Harold would grin and smile good naturedly, all the while desire curled in his chest.

As much as his family might treat it like a joke or an old story, he wanted it desperately.

Not necessarily a newspaper named after him, but what he wanted above all was to be one of the greatest reporters of all times. The kind that would search to discover the truth and uncover the hardest hitting stories. The kind that would change the world.

Unfortunately, his boss didn't exactly see that in him.

It had taken quite a bit to convince him to give him this lead. Yes, there were a lot of other reporters who had more experience than him, but he was destined to discover something as momentous as this!

The Last Empress.

There was so little known about her. Despite the fact that she lived in such a recent age, only forty-five years ago, information about her or her life was about as rare as rain in the Xerses ruins.

Anyone and everyone with information about her went missing, died, or refused to talk. Most of the historical records recording her ascension, her rule, or her displacement had been destroyed in a giant cover up. And even if there was anyone in Xing who knew anything about her, they would certainly never talk to an Amestrian like him.

Especially not about her.

It was only by a miracle that Harold had learned about the lead at all.

He had been walking by his boss's office when he heard him discussing it with one of the senior reporters. He had… he would admit it, eavesdropped, and would do it a hundred times over to have heard it.

They had discovered someone still alive, alive and living in Amestris that might have information about her. Quite a bit of information, if their sources weren't mistaken.

He had barged into the office right then and demanded to be the one to track the lead down.

His boss had been outraged and threatened to have him fired on the spot for having eavesdropped, but Harold had stood tall and told his boss that if he wasn't given the story, he would track down the source himself and sell the story to another newspaper.

The man couldn't say no.

Which was what had led him here.

It had taken a bit of digging to figure out where to find the source, but through a quite impressive if you asked him series of document searching, he found an address in a small town in the East called Resembool.

He frowned slightly when he saw the house, but shrugged and marched up to the front door and knocked on it.

He had to wait a few minutes before the door was opened.

Standing in the doorway was an older man. He stood rather tall for someone of his age, easily six foot or taller and hardly stooped at all. His hair was completely grey, but his eyes were a startling color of gold. His face was soft and warm, and the most prominent wrinkles on his face were around his eyes and mouth from smiling.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Are you Alphonse Elric?"

"I am."

"Hello. My name is Harold DeWitt. I'm a reporter for the Central Times." The man in front of him blinked.

"Oh? And what are you doing asking for me? I haven't done anything interesting in a long, long time."

Harold smiled. The man seemed very friendly.

"I beg to differ, sir. You're alchemic theories are renowned! I just want your time for a few minutes to talk about them—"

"I haven't come up with an alchemic theory in thirteen years; it's hardly something to send a reporter over now. Especially the Central Times, which hasn't cared about alchemic discoveries since Fuhrer Mustang first became the Flame Alchemist and threatened to torch any reporters who tried to get ahold of his secret. Why don't you tell me why you're really here, son." The man didn't seem angry or annoyed, instead his eyes twinkled in amusement. Harold had to admit to be impressed. This old man certainly still had his wits about him.

"I… I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean to… offend you."

"It's fine, Harold. But you're going to have to use better tricks than that to get my secrets from me." Elric winked and smiled good-naturedly before inviting him into the house. Harold smiled and nodded, entering the home.

It was neatly kept. Very warm and inviting, like the man's demeanor. There was light pouring in from the windows. The furniture was all solid, but worn, as if it carried many memories.

"Do you drink tea, Harold?" he asked, back still turned. "Or are you a part of this younger generation that seems to have coffee instead of blood?"

Harold laughed. It was very easy around this man. "Tea is fine, sir."

"Very well then, I'll just serve that up real quick. Take a seat in the parlor. It'll be ready in a jiffy."

Harold nodded, doing as Elric had told him. He took a seat in one of the low Xingese styled cushions around a coffee table in the middle of the room. There were a couple of large photo albums sitting on the tables that he picked up and started flipping through.

The first few pages of the first book he picked up were full of pictures of two blond boys. Sometimes they were accompanied by an older brunet woman who was probably their mother, sometimes by a blond girl. There was even a couple with what looked like… a shriveled old hag with a pipe.

Then the pictures began to change. There was still one of the blond boys, but instead of being accompanied by his brother, he was now accompanied by a large suit of armor. Some of the pictures included men in military blues. Harold was even shocked to recognize one of the men in one of the pictures as the former Fuhrer Mustang.

Just as suddenly as the suit of armor appeared, it disappeared. In its place was a teenage boy that resembled a skeleton. The first few pictures with him in it he had long blond hair, but a few pictures later it had been cut short. The next few pages of pictures documented the skeleton boy gaining more weight and strength, before eventually looking like a younger version of the man who was in the other room preparing tea.

"Terribly interesting, isn't it?"

Harold jumped slightly.

"Excuse me, sir?" he asked, turning around with the album still in his hands.

"It's terribly interesting. Isn't it? Watching a young lad like that," Elric gestured at the pictures with a cup of tea, "turn into an old decrepit man like me."

"You're not that old, sir."

"I'm a bag of old bones. Not even alkahestry can stop the aching. It's a part of life, son. Growing old is another adventure that'll only end when a child survives by eating the food that was grown using whatever nutrients these bones can give it."

"That's very… deep, sir."

"Why thank you." He settled down on the couch and then handed Harold his cup of tea. "I hope you like jasmine."

They sat there in silence, drinking slowly as to not burn their tongues.

It was eventually Elric that broke the silence, putting his cup and it's saucer down on the coffee table.

"Now, what did you really come here to ask me about?"

Harold followed his example, and put his own cup on the table, before pulling out a notepad and pencil. His heart started pounding in his chest. This was it.

"How long did you serve as Ambassador to Xing?"

Elric blinked before frowning slightly and rubbing his chin. "Let's see, I started little less than a year after the end of the Great War, so it was fifteen years."

"You quit shortly before the death of the first President, yes?"

Elric snorted. "What a disaster that was." Harold decided not to comment.

"So you were Ambassador during the Last Empress's rule, correct?"

"Yes, yes I was."

"How much do you know about her?"

"You're going to have to be more specific than that, son," Elric said, picking up his tea cup again and staring into it. "I suppose I could tell you a lot of things about the Empress, but none of it might be anything you're interested in hearing. She would always have her tea at 2:00 whether that was in the middle of the court session or a meeting with important dignitaries. Always on the dot." He took a swig of tea, swallowed, then smiled at Harold over the rim of his cup. "But that's hardly the information you're interested, am I right?"

"Well… yes, you are right Mr. Elric. You see, we have such few records about her time on the throne. We really know next to nothing about her other than the fact that her rule led to the fall of Imperial Xing."

"So do you want me to describe her policies? The moves she made? I was there for most of it."

"Would you actually mind telling me how close you were to the Empress? There are very few people alive who know anything about her… it might be a long shot, but were you particularly close at all? In any occasions?"

"You have to understand, young man, that the Empress was rather shut off. She always felt like her position was in danger, for good reasons mind you, and let very, very few people into her close circle of friend or advisors."

"Oh…" Harold could feel his reporter career slipping out of reach. No! No!

The man shifted, before leaning forward with a twinkling in his eyes.

"It just so happens, that I was one of those few." Harold's eyes widened and his heart began to race.

"You were?"

"I was. I can honestly say that I was one of the Empress's closest friends. I visited her in prison before she died."

"Actually, I was hoping that you might be able to give me some more information about that—"

"Al?"

The old man lifted his head as Harold heard some noises from the kitchen.

"Al? Do we have company over— Oh. Oh, hello." An old woman that looked to be the same age as Mr. Elric entered the room. She was short, even for an old woman, and her long hair was still mostly black, but slightly peppered with streaks of grey. Even if Harold couldn't tell from her obvious features, her clothing gave her away as Xingese.

"Hello."

"Al, who's this?"

"This is Harold DeWitt. He's a reporter from Central Times. He's asking questions about the Last Empress." Harold glanced back at the man, whose eyes were twinkling again. The woman nodded, before sitting down next to Elric, who could only be her husband.

"Well you've come to the right place to hear about her. My husband loves sharing his stories about her. Sometimes I start thinking that I should be jealous of the way he almost seemed to worship her. Though, most people did until the Rebellion." Elric chuckled and pressed his face against the side of hers.

"Well to be fair, my dear, if it wasn't for her, we never would have gotten together." The woman rolled her eyes and shoved him slightly with her shoulder, only causing Elric to chuckle even more.

"This is… Mrs. Elric?"

"Yes," the woman said, holding out a hand for him to shake.

"Were you two married before the Fall of the Empire?"

"No, actually. We fell in love while Al was serving as an Ambassador. He left a few months before the Fall and could only get sanction to come back once the first President had been elected and Xing regained some stability. Then he smuggled me out of Xing and brought me here where we got married."

"Oh…"

"And before you get any ideas about turning us in, young man, it's not illegal to bring your girlfriend into your country if you get the leader of said country to personally approve her entrance and arrange the paperwork himself."

"Ah… well, if we still have time after this interview I'd be fascinated to hear your story further." The offer actually was genuine. It seemed like a fascinating story. While Harold's true interest was in journalism, perhaps he could even get a book written. If he published it as a novel based on a true story… there was a whole market popping up for those, he could make a fortune. "However I am here for the Last Empress…"

"Of course. What do you want to know?" A shiver on anticipation coursed through Harold's whole body. His voice was breathless when it came out.

"Anything and everything."

"Hmm. Anything and everything huh… let's see, I think I'll start at the beginning."

* * *

15 May 1915

"_The Philosopher's Stone. Where is it?"_

_The small Xingese girl held out her arms, both to balance herself and make sure that no one else started talking and broke her concentration. _

_There._

_She immediately ran for the small vial of red liquid, skidding on her knees to reach it. Her hand closed around the vial, and she thrust it into a pocket of her sash, not even checking to stare at it. She could feel the unnatural _qi_. She knew that this was legitimate. This was a Philosopher's Stone._

_And she had it._

_Then she was looking down at the scuffed shoes of King Bradely._


	2. Chapter 2

_18 May 1919_

Alphonse Elric woke up abruptly, heart pounding so hard in his chest it hurt.

Within seconds he was getting out of his bed and rushing across the hall, flinging the door open to find…

He let all the air leave his lungs, sinking against the door frame. Everything was alright.

He touched a hand to his chest as his heart beat slowly returned to its usual tempo, only vaguely recognizing the fact that yes, he had a heart, and yes it was beating. It had been four years since the Promised Day, so Al was mostly used to the sensation. There were moments when he really thought about how fortunate he was and how amazing it was to have a body after so long. It took him about a year to not start crying or laughing every time he experienced something for the first time again.

Ed snored and this time Al let himself smile.

There had been so many times the past four years that he thought— No. He couldn't think like that. Ed was here. He was alive, and even mostly intact. It was better than most brothers could claim.

Al swallowed the lump in his throat at the memory of the soldiers, wave after wave of them, bruised, bloody, bandaged, but most of all so broken inside…

The Great War had broken everyone.

Four years of pointless fighting, escalating until it seemed like the entire world had been involved. Allies and conquered nations alike, ancient grudges and new grievances driving more and more men to throw their lives away. Most of the men that didn't die weren't too far away from it.

But not Ed.

"You had the same dream, didn't you?"

Al jumped a little, but almost wasn't surprised when he turned around and found Winry standing there, clutching a bath robe closed in front of her.

He didn't have to ask what dream she was talking about.

"Yeah."

"I knew that he was alright, but I just…"

"You had to see with your own eyes."

"Exactly.

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Al was still concentrating on getting his heart rate back to normal. Even with the reassurance that Ed was there, the panic couldn't quite leave him.

"I'm so pathetic," Winry whispered, brushing some of her hair behind an ear. Despite the fact that she had probably just gotten out of bed, her hair was still relatively smooth. That was odd, usually Winry had terrific bedhead.

"What are you talking about Winry? I came running over here when I woke up too."

"Not just because of that, Al," Winry whispered. "It's not just… I'm… I can't sleep most nights. I stay up for hours, just trying to find some way to get some sleep. But every time I close my eyes all I can see is that hospital. All I can see are the men and I can still hear their screams—" To Al's alarm, he noticed tears springing up in the corners of her eyes.

"Hey," he said quickly, pulling her into his arms. "You're not pathetic, Winry, not at all."

"I'm standing here crying, hardly able to sleep. How is that not pathetic? I hardly have the right to cry, especially when he's not. You're not. After everything he went through… I'm supposed to be strong for you two boys."

"You are, Winry. You always have been."

She pressed her face against his shoulder. "Then why are you the one comforting me?"

"Because I'm returning the favor. You… even when you weren't here, you were being strong for me. I could have made it through this war without knowing that you were out there helping people. Your letters helped me get through it."

"I feel like I broke out there though. How am I supposed to help you or Ed when I can't even get it together myself?"

"Winry," Al said firmly, grabbing her arms and pushing her away so he could stare directly into her eyes. "You did not break. I've seen men that broke. Men that can hardly even pull their lives together. They literally can't even move without being afraid of dying. You're moving on. You're picking up where you left off. You're doing something. So is Ed."

"So are you," she responded, and Al couldn't help the twinge of guilt.

"Yeah, so am I," he said softly, but then he said more firmly, "But that's a good thing. We're only broken if we can't get up and move forward. But we are moving forward. We are. Our legs are still working, so we need to use them to move forward."

Winry blinked, and then swore.

That wasn't exactly the response that Al was expecting.

"Excuse me?"

"I still haven't made the plating for Ed's new leg! I make him a perfectly good replacement for the one he lost out there, and then he goes and breaks it within the first year being home! That idiot!"

Al sighed, shook his head, then laughed.

"I think you're perfectly fine, Winry. As long as you have Ed around to beat up, you'll be just fine."

"I do not beat him up!"

Al raised an eyebrow at her, and she smiled sheepishly. "I only give him what he deserves." Al laughed again, and this time Winry joined in with him. Then Ed shifted in his bed from the other room, and the laughing intensified (if quieted).

Her smile turned tender after a bit though.

"Oh Al… What am I going to do when you're gone? What are we going to do?"

"You're going to get married and have three kids before I can come back properly," Al responded, smirking halfheartedly. That caused Winry to snort and smack him on the shoulder.

"Never mind, you can get out of here."

Al grinned.

He still wasn't quite sure how he was going to go without this. Gently bantering with his almost sister at… what time was it? Four in the morning? It seemed like as soon as he made his decision, a thousand reasons started popping up as to why he couldn't leave. It was just moments like this that he wasn't sure he'd be able to go without. Bantering with Winry in the early morning, arguing with Ed over milk (it didn't matter if he had spent years living off food a lot more foul than milk, Ed still wouldn't drink it), even just being able to see Ed sitting outside with the sun on his face, shining in his gold hair. He would miss watching the way that Ed and Winry interacted with each other. Leaving meant that he would probably miss them finally admitted to themselves and each other that they loved each other. Being away would also cut off his ability to visit his parents and Granny.

"Al? Are you alright?"

"Hmm?"

"You were staring at me funny," Winry clarified, looking at him with concern now. "Are you alright?"

"What? Oh… I was just thinking about how much I'll miss this when I'm in Xing."

"Oh."

Silence fell between them. Winry had been avoiding the topic as much as she could recently. It was almost as if she was in denial. Ed was approaching it with almost callous distance, but Winry got emotional whenever it was brought up. 'We just got back together, why do we have to be separated again?'

"You don't have to go, you know," she offered after a while of the silence.

"We've been over this, Winry," he said softly.

"I know," she said, sighing. "You feel like it's something you need to do. You need to take your own steps to get over the war, and you think going to Xing and learning more about alkahestry will help you."

"Have we really had this argument so many times that you can quote me?"

"Apparently so."

"I'm sorry, Winry."

"I know, Al."

He sighed. There really didn't seem to be a way to win. He didn't want to leave, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel drawn to Xing. He wasn't sure what it was, exactly. They had made so many friends from Xing, and they had been their allies during the war, and he had heard so much of it. His fascination and desire to learn alkahestry had never waned. He wouldn't deny that yes he wanted to see Mei — and Ling, and Lan Fan of course. He had no idea how any of them were doing. News had been more or less completely cut off.

It also just seemed like… a place where he could… not start over, but like he said, move on. Continue. He had dreamed before the war of being able to go there and study one day. Now that it was over, he felt like he almost needed to go there to move past the war. Only once he traveled and learned there would he have the proof to himself that the war really and truly was over. He also felt obligated to continue to research alkahestric applications for reversing chimeraism. Even if it wouldn't be any good to Jerso and Zampano now, he wanted to help people. He needed to.

"I'll make breakfast," he volunteered.

"Al, it's four thirty in the morning."

"Is it that late? I thought it was just barely four."

She shook her head then, after a moment's pause, shrugged. "It's not like I'll be able to get back to sleep anyways. And maybe the smell of food will get Ed up so he can get a start on the chores I have for him to do."

"And you're sure you two are getting married anytime soon?"

"Shut up, Al."

Al grinned as Winry turned on her heel and marched back to her room, probably to get dressed for the rest of the day. Even though he had just promised to go cook breakfast, Al couldn't help himself from turning around and taking a peek in the doorway to Ed's room.

The blond was still sleeping peacefully.

He took a breath and walked towards the stairs.

Breakfast wasn't going to cook itself. Especially not this early in the morning.

He started first on getting some bacon cooking. If the smell of that didn't manage to get Ed up, then nothing would. And it took longer and kept longer than the eggs. Toast was also fairly easy and quick to get ready.

Al always made sure to do his best cooking though. After the food both Winry and Ed, but Ed in particular, had to endure out there, it was his pleasure to feed them both good food. Though apparently the men in the makeshift hospitals Winry volunteered at during the war used to all chip in to get the right ingredients for her to make one of her apple pies. According to her, the pies were better medicine than anything else the nurses could have given the men. She had seen full grown, war hardened, bloody and injured soldiers cry just at the sight of one.

Winry joined him just as he was cracking the eggs open, dressed and hair brushed. "What do you need me to do?"

"You could start the toast," he said, smiling at her. She nodded and got to work slicing some bread.

Sure enough the smell ended up drawing Ed downstairs a couple of minutes before breakfast was ready.

They ate as the sun was just breaking over the horizon.

No one said very much, but the silence was comforting. They didn't need to say anything.

"Winry." The automail mechanic looked up when Ed addressed her.

"Yes, Ed?"

He frowned, opened his mouth and then closed it, all the while starting to turn pink. "You know… You're one of the strongest people I know. No matter what happens you're always trying to help other people. And you've always tried to help me and Al."

Winry looked surprised at Ed's sudden words. Al certainly was. It wasn't like Ed to be sensitive or eloquent.

"So… you're not pathetic."

A look of understanding must have crossed both of their faces because Ed flushed an even darker color of red.

"I have trouble sleeping too. And you two aren't quiet."

Al stared at his brother, who quickly ducked his head and began shoveling more eggs into his mouth. Even after Al got his body back, despite the fact that Ed only had one body to provide nourishment for, he still ate for two. If he wasn't as active as he was he probably would have easily become fat.

"Ed…"

"What?" he snapped defensively. Al glanced at Winry, who seemed to understand exactly what he was getting at.

So when Al moved to pull his brother into a hug (eliciting a quick squawk of protest) he wasn't alone.

The sun finally rose completely in time to shine on the three wrapped in each other's embraces.

* * *

The Great War was over.

Armistice had been declared.

The four year long war that started with Amestris and Drachma but grew to encompass the whole world in a tangled web of alliances and grudges until no one even knew why they were fighting anymore… was over.

But it seemed that it would never stop coming back to destroy Hua Pang's life.

That notion had never been more clear to him than as he kneeled there at his parents' burial site.

He had not been there to bury him. His invalid cousin that hadn't been a part of the war had done that. Hua hadn't even known that they were dead.

They died as a result of one of the plagues that had wiped out so many following the war. It seemed that so many men from all over the world camping together and then bringing back diseases had been devastating back home.

Hua wouldn't know. When Amestris admitted defeat and surrendered to Drachma, Xing did likewise, despite how much territory they'd gained in the East. The double surrender had ended the war, but while his fellow soldiers had all been sent home with the Empress's blessing, he had been rotting away in a prison cell in Goddanpi.

Apparently the Goddanpiese had not taken kindly to being occupied and took it out on all of the Xingese soldiers that didn't manage to get out of the country before reinforcements from Vihayan had them overrun.

He had been whipped, beaten, nearly drowned, stabbed, starved, and even fed human flesh. He had endured torture, slept without a blanket in weather cold enough to kill a man, watched friends and comrades die, and dreamed of rescue that seemed certain to never come.

Then it had.

He had been told upon arriving back in Xing that he was a hero that had fought and suffered for his Empress and country.

Hua Pang stood up.

A hero, they called him. A pride to the nation.

Words.

* * *

**I'm not going to be spending too much time describing the background information about the war. If you're really confused about what's going on, feel free to PM me and I'll explain more. If you're generally interested about reading more about it, I have a one shot called 'Broken Men' on my profile and add me to your alert list so that if I ever most more about it you can be one of the first to know!**

***Housekeeping note: updates are not going to be coming as religiously as they did with the GFTS trilogy. Sorry, but... life.**


	3. Chapter 3

_27 May 1919_

"Well… this is it."

Winry took a deep breath, then nodded. "Stay safe, Al. It'd really be a shame for all of us to go through so much only for you to get into some trouble in Xing and end up getting yourself injured."

Al gave her a weak smile. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. It was always Ed that got into trouble, not me, thank you very much. I was the one that was always getting him out of it."

Ed, who was standing with his hands in his pockets, back straight and staring ahead, smirked. "Don't know how I'm going to get out of any trouble without you, Al."

"You're just going to have to stay out of it."

Ed laughed, causing Winry to frown. "Edward Elric, you should listen to him! Why is it that Al always has to act like the older one!"

"He likes it, Win, I'm just letting him do what he wants."

The mechanic leveled a glare in Ed's direction so fierce, Al was partially surprised her ever present wrench didn't make a new permanent lodging in Ed's skull.

"Geeze, woman, I'm joking," he said quickly, throwing his hands up, causing Al to laugh. The glare didn't disappear.

"I am going to check on when the train is supposed to leave," she announced haughtily, turning around on one heel and marching in the other direction. Both Elrics watched her go, Al with a grin on his face and Ed with apprehension.

"She's going to actually kill me with that wrench of hers one of these days," Ed said once he was sure she was out of earshot.

Then again, earshot was a lot shorter distance when standing in the midst of one of the busiest train stations in all of Amestris. East City's Grand Central Station was the only city in the entire country where you could take a train to Xing. The international railroad was actually built as a war effort in an attempt to allow communication between the two allied nations to actually exist. It had been used mostly for transporting weapons and food back and forth, though.

Now it was being used to transport visitors.

Including Al.

"Al." Al looked away from the crowds Winry had disappeared into at the sound of his brother's voice. It had lost all annoyance or joking. His eyebrows were pressed together and, probably not knowing what else to do, he placed a hand on Al's shoulder.

"What is it, Brother?"

"I know you've got to do this. I understand that."

"Thanks Ed…"

"But… be careful, alright? And I don't just mean stay out of street fights, I mean watch yourself. People… change. I've seen good men become monsters. I… I nearly became one myself."

"Ed…"

The blond shook his head, slightly begging Al not to interrupt. "Xing is a dangerous place, Al. Ling and Mei were about ready to kill each other and we know the rest of their siblings were prepared to do the same or worse. And you're going to be right in the middle of it at the palace. Just don't lose yourself out there, alright?"

"I won't, Brother," Al promised sincerely. Ed nodded, then unexpectedly pulled Al into a tight hug.

"We've been through a lot, Brother," Al muttered, hugging back just as tightly.

"We have. And we've always managed to beat it."

"We're Elrics. That's what we do." Ed pulled away and grinned.

"You bet. Just hurry up, learn alkahestry, and come home, alright? Then we can be together again."

"I'll try, Brother. But you've got to promise me that you'll finally stop being prideful and ask Winry to marry you. She's just about the only person who's willing to put up with you, and I want nieces and nephews!"

"Al!"

"Seriously though, Brother," Al said after smiling at how flustered he managed to make Ed. "Winry deserves it. She's waited and worried for you all these years…" Al trailed off, not quite sure how to put what he wanted to say into words. When Ed had accepted a place back into the military at the start of the war she had been heartbroken. When he was actually sent behind enemy lines… she had followed him into the field to protect him and his fellow soldiers. He thought back to the conversation that had had outside his room just a week ago. "She loves you. And you love her. So do both of you a favor and admit it."

Still red enough to look like someone had thrown an overripe tomato at his face, Ed nodded.

"Al! Get on right now!"

Al spun around in time to see Winry running towards them before he heard the whoosh of steam that signaled the fact that the train was taking off. His heart jumped into his throat and he lurched forward automatically. Thank goodness that he and Ed had had to jump onto more than a couple of trains in his life time. He had to push a few people out of the way, but managed to get a foot on the bottom step and a hand on the handle the conductor usually hung off of.

He turned around just in time to wave at Winry and Ed before the steam obscured his view.

"Do you have a ticket, son?"

Al turned around to face an amused conductor. He grinned sheepishly, but the man smiled back at him.

"Sorry. One ticket to Xing."

* * *

_30 May 1919_

When he had been making his plans to come to Xing, Al had spent hours staring at maps of Xing and the railroad system there. There were a couple of things he knew that he needed to get done before getting to the capital and beginning his alkahestry studies. And this was one trip he knew he had to make.

The trip from the train station was a quick one. Since it was the first stop in Xing after a three day train ride, there was always a steady business of men ready to carry tourists and visitors around the city, taking them to see sights or somewhere they could stay for a night before the next train left.

It was during that short ride in the back of a man's horse drawn cart that Al realized just how little Xingese he actually knew. Luckily enough, the man spoke rudimentary Amestrian so they managed to communicate enough to get Al to where he wanted to be.

The man navigated through several areas that looked abnormally bare, but from Al managed to understand from the driver's broken Amestrian and his little knowledge of Xingese was that a two decades ago the entire area had been the green beacon that led wanderers in the desert home. After the industrial boom, though, most of the trees had been cut down. Then once the coal deposits had been found, the incentive to grow them back more or less disappeared.

Trees finally began to pop up again though, the further they got from the city. In fact it was only after they turned a corner and passed the line of trees that Al was able to see the… palace in front of him. He couldn't think of any other word for the sweeping buildings and majesty of the architecture in front of him. His jaw dropped slightly, but then morphed into a smile when he saw who it was standing outside the tall gates that surrounded the palace.

He let out a whoop and waved which caused his welcoming committee to grin and wave back.

"Al!" the Xingese Prince called out happily when he caught sight of his old friend. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

Al grinned even wider and waited for the cart to stop before hopping out and moving forward to hug the Prince, who didn't look like he had changed a day except for a slightly stronger looking jaw and closed tunic. "Hey, Ling. You look good."

"I look good?" Ling asked, throwing his eyebrows up. "Last time I saw you, you couldn't stand up without help. A strong breeze would have broken your arm! Now look at you! Are you taller than Ed now?"

"Barely, but yeah. The doctors said that my growth spurt was delayed because of malnutrition, but I've grown almost a foot since coming back from the Gate."

"That's amazing, Al," he said sincerely. "I'm happy for you." Then he turned to the man who was driving the cart and began speaking to him in rapid Xingese that Al couldn't follow. The driver's eyebrows rose, before he bowed his head deeply and muttered a phrase Al recognized as 'Thank you'.

"What did you say to him?"

"Hmm? Oh, I just offered to pay him for you."

"Oh, no, really Ling, I have money—"

"No, consider it me paying you back for all the food of yours I ate." Al flushed a little pink at the grin on Ling's face.

"It all went on Brother's bill…"

"Then tell the pipsqueak I don't owe him anything," he dismissed quickly, waving a hand. Then he used the same hand to clap Al on the shoulder, leading him through the imposing gate into a large courtyard.

"I'm doing well, since you asked." Al flushed again. "I never thought I'd be happy not being Emperor, but it's really not that bad. I don't have to deal with courtiers all the time. I get to stay home here in the Yao Province." To Al's surprise, Ling did not lead him towards the front door, but instead to the right where there was a lovely garden. Al couldn't help taking a deep breath, filling his nostrils with all different sort of wonderful smells. "And the best news of all," Ling continued as he lead him towards a certain tree that a certain person was sitting under. "I got to marry whomever I wanted."

"Lan Fan?"

"Alphonse," the ex-guard said, standing up and attempting to bow, but being quite unable due to the swollen nature of her stomach.

"You're pregnant?" She nodded, smiling slightly. Ling moved over to her and wrapped his free arm around her, laying his hand on the baby bump.

"Five months," he told Al, all the while kissing Lan Fan on the cheek. "We got married a little after the war, as soon as the Empress made the decree."

"What decree?"

"Well, as a female, she can't very well have 50 direct heirs," Ling explained, still holding onto his wife. "So instead of baring and birthing 50 children, she decreed that each of her half siblings will bear a child to be her heir from that clan. Fu will be the Yao clan's heir."

"Fu?"

"If it's a boy," Lan Fan said. "We haven't decided on a name for a girl."

"I want to name her Lan Fan, but Lanny refuses. But the thing about the decree was that the Empress never specified who the mother of the heir had to be. So I was perfectly able to marry Lan Fan... The woman I love." Lan Fan blushed slightly, but looked down so that it was harder to tell.

"I'm happy for you two," Al said, grinning. "Really, that's amazing!"

"What about Ed and Winry?"

"Still denying the fact that they're in love. I was really hoping that they'd manage to get together before I left, but it didn't happen."

"Those two need to get a move on."

"Yeah," Al agreed, grinning once again. "Some people want to be Uncles!" Ling laughed and Lan Fan managed a smile. "Really though, I'm not worried. They just need a bit of time. Neither of them are really quite… over the war. I mean, Winry was treating men straight from the front lines. And Ed wasn't even on the front lines, he was behind enemy lines. They've both… they both need a little time. Like I said, they're not quite over it yet."

Ling's face was completely sober now. "I don't think anyone is."

"It changed everything."

"It did. And Al, while we're talking about it… I'm guessing you're heading to the capital, right?"

"I was hoping to stay here for a few days if you'll let me, but yes."

"Of course you can stay with us, Al," Ling said quickly with a grin, before it disappeared. "But… while you're in the capital, I'd suggest being careful."

"What do you mean?"

Ling glanced at Lan Fan "A lot of the Xingese aren't very happy with the surrender. They felt like we could have won in the East if we had kept fighting and that Amestris twisted our arm into surrendering. They're humiliated. And war in general always makes people upset; it makes things unsteady. I'm not saying that there's anything going on in particular you need to avoid entanglement in… just be careful."

"I will," Al promised. The more people seemed to tell him about this country the more apprehensive he got. What would his time be like here if he was always trying to avoid corrupting politics and looking out for… for what? Revolutions?

"But definitely try the food. Check for poison first, but try the food. It is so good!"

The unexpected comment forced Al to laugh.

* * *

_7 June 1919_

He stayed with Ling and Lan Fan for several days, almost an entire week, actually. It was thoroughly enjoyable. After four years apart and so much change each, it was nice to catch up. Al described the regimen he put himself on to return his body to normal strength and in turn Ling described the types of responsibilities that he had now in the Yao clan. He was, technically, the highest representative to the Empress for the clan, even though he had spent a grand total of three individual weeks at court.

Eventually the time had to end though, and almost far too soon Al was getting on a train and heading away from the Yao Province for the capital.

The train ride from Weiwu to Chengshi was actually longer than it took to cross the desert, so Al stopped in two different cities along the way to stay the night while getting there. Already he was starting to pick up more of the language than he had when he first arrived. The necessity and some of the pointers that Ling gave him seemed to work together to improve his abilities quite well.

Chengshi was easily one of the most impressive cities Al had ever been in. It was just so vibrant and busy… he could spend a year wandering the streets and still find new things to see and foods to try and people to talk to…

And then of course there was the palace itself dominating the city from the hill above. It was impossible to miss, and almost as intimidating at the military headquarters stations in the middle of Central. Though a very different style. The palace took much more after the style of the Yao's residence… only a lot bigger.

Finally, after pushing his way through crowds and simultaneously trying not to buy anything and still take everything in (a near impossible task) Al managed to get to the top of the hill and approach the palace.

The guards standing outside the gates glared at him until a messenger ran back towards them with the information that an Amestrian Ambassador was indeed supposed to be there and allowed in.

The boy (he looked like was maybe twelve or thirteen years old) lead him through the hallways until they finally approached a pair of doors that greatly resembled the entrance doors.

"What are we doing here?" Al asked the boy in the best Xingese he could manage. The boy stared back at him evenly.

"The Empress said you were supposed to come and be presented in front of the court."

Al's heartbeat skyrocketed. "What? In front of the entire court? Right now? But I just got here!"

"She said now."

Then the doors opened and the boy none too subtly pushed Al forward into the room.

The room, which had to be the throne room, was huge. A single aisle extended down the middle of the room until reaching a raised platform on which the Empress sat. On either side of the aisle were raised platforms on which a couple of dozen people sat each. They were all staring at him, as well as the group of six or seven men that were seated to the right of the throne. Last time Al had been the center of attention like this, he had been physically incapable of blushing.

Despite the red color of his cheeks, he walked down the aisle until finally reaching a distance from the throne he thought was appropriate. He, not sure what else to do, knelt down on one knee and touched his forehead to the other.

"Ambassador Elric," the Empress said in Amestrian, and despite Al's nervousness he smiled at the sound of her voice, especially at the language in which he heard it in. He really did not want to embarrass himself by using horrible Xingese in front of the entire court. "I trust that everything went well on your journey here."

He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "Everything was splendid, thank you for asking Your Highness."

"I'm glad. You may rise." Al straightened into a standing position and couldn't help but a small grin at her familiar face. It had changed the past four years. It was different. Skinnier. More matured. "It is an honor to have you here, Ambassador."

"The honor is all mine, Empress Chang."


	4. Chapter 4

**Art cred for this story's cover art goes to arl-phonse on DA. If you're a fan of AlMei at all, I guarantee you've seen and fallen in love with her art. I requested this picture back when I was writing RFD and knew that I would be writing this one. There's a link on my profile to the full thing :)**

* * *

A sudden squeak echoed around the currently silent hall. Al blinked, confused as to what was going on, when a small white streak came running at him. For a few seconds a knee-jerk reaction, he almost thought he was being attacked. Then the small bear-cat leapt from the ground and attached itself to his shirt.

"She has not forgotten you, apparently," Mei said, smiling slightly. Al glanced up at her before looking back down and picking the creature off his chest.

"Hello, Xiao Mei," he said, smiling himself now. "It's good to see you too."

She almost seemed to grin at him as he lifted her up so that she could perch on his shoulder.

He took a deep breath, then looked back up at the Empress. She really did look quite impressive. The last time that Al had seen Mei, she had been a small 12 year old girl with blood stained pink clothes. Now at 16 she had matured quite a bit. Not only was her face now more narrow, but she seemed taller and had obviously begun to develop more of a shape. Ed's familiar insult of bean girl hardly seemed to apply anymore.

The outfit was nothing short of regal, all different shades of red with gold accents and streaks. The easily most impressive part of the entire outfit though was the crown that sat on her head. The entire apparatus seemed to double the size of her head. The color betrayed it as gold, and Al wouldn't doubt if it was near pure. He wasn't quite sure how she was able to keep her head up, let alone as straight as she was.

"How are you Mei—" he began to ask, but she cut him off before he could even fully say her name.

"Do you have a message for me from the Fuhrer?"

He blinked. "Oh, right! Yes! I do." He cleared his throat, but once again he was cut off.

"Your Majesty," one of the members of the court lining the room said, standing up. To Al's horror the man was speaking Xingese. "With all due respect to Your Highness, must we belittle these ancient and nobles halls with the tongue of foreigners? Some of us cannot speak their accursed language."

"I know for a fact you speak their accursed tongue, as you so call it," Mei responded in Amestrian, something that Al was sure had to be an insult. "After all, it was you that referred to me using its more foul terms until learning that that a brat from the Chang clan would indeed know how to speak it. Besides, wouldn't you consider it similar insult to have him pollute our halls with his butchered version?"

Al winced.

"… Of course, Your Majesty," the man said, smiling so thinly the lines of his lips could have rivaled that of a spider web thread.

"Now, Ambassador, your message?"

"Only this, Your Majesty," Al said, clearing his throat and speaking as loudly and clearly as he could. "That Fuhrer Mustang hopes that you will accept me in your halls as his representative, and that our prospering relationship may continue for many years to come."

"His hopes are recognized. Ambassador, you are of course welcome to reside here as a guest from Amestris."

"Thank you."

"If you wish to familiarize yourself with our customs—"

"I would like that very much."

There was dead silence in the hall following Al's interruption. His eyes widened and he began to turn slightly red, especially when whispering began to break out to break the silence. Mei had blinked, and underneath the makeup brushed across her cheeks, Al could tell that they were reddening slightly.

"Your Majesty," one of the men sitting to the right of Mei hissed, his voice somehow cutting through the whisperings.

"He is unaware, Lien-ti. Ambassador, for your own future reference, it is a capital offence to interrupt the Empress while she is speaking. There will be no punishment on account of your ignorance, but in the future you would do well to hold your tongue."

Al swallowed hard, then nodded.

"Thank you. I will."

"Perhaps your familiarization with our customs should begin sooner than you originally thought."

He managed to smile at the dry comment, even though his cheeks were still burning.

"Hai, are there any more requests today?"

"No, Your Majesty. Do you wish to retire?"

"As long as there are no more requests you wish to bring before me, yes." She locked eyes with the rest of the room, seeming to stare each one of them down. When no one spoke, she nodded.

"Very well, you are all dismissed."

With that, she stood, and swept her way off the throne and down the center of the aisle. Al barely caught her whisper to meet her in her private reception chambers as soon as possible as she brushed past him. Xiao Mei unceremoniously jumped off his shoulder and scurried after her master.

He was more or less left standing there gapping after her as the court gradually began to file from their seats, whispering amongst themselves. The conversations were all in Xingese, so Al couldn't understand more than a few words in most of them.

"Ambassador."

He turned when he heard the Amestrian. A Xingese man stood there, smiling hesitantly. It looked like he wasn't that much older than Al, only a few years at most. Other than that, his only distinguishing feature had to be his white trimmed, black outfit. All of the other noblemen and courtiers were wearing wide arrays of colors, but he was staunchly black and white.

Al sank into a bow at the waist, which was quickly mirrored by the Xingeseman.

"Ambassador, it is so nice to meet you." His Amestrian was halted and accented, but Al could easily understand him.

"Thank you," he responded automatically in his own language.

"I have wanted to meet an Amestrian for some time now."

"Really?" Al asked, frowning. He had gotten the impression that he wasn't too popular around here from the looks most of the Xingese kept giving him.

"Yes!" the man said eagerly. "My father served in the war. Not as a soldier, obviously, but he got to meet several Amestrians. The stories he told me about your people I have always wanted to see for myself."

"… you mean you want to know whether we're actually as weird as your father made us sound?" he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. The Xingeseman flushed.

"I did not mean to…" he muttered a quick phrase in Xingese before his eyes lit up. "Offend. I did not mean to offend you, Ambassador. I… I just wanted to… perhaps if you want someone to teach you some of the customs of Xing? I would be willing to help."

Al hesitated, not quite sure if he wanted to take the offer from someone who seemed to view Amestrians as little more than an oddity, but he took a glance around first. Most of the people who were looking his way instead of walking past him with their noses up looked mildly offended just by his presence. Or maybe he was supposed to be doing something he wasn't, or he wasn't doing something he should have.

He could endure this man's amusement. It wasn't like he hadn't dealt with people's curiosity before. Apparently having blond hair in Xing was about equivalent to a seven foot tall suit of armor in Amestris.

"Thank you very much. I would appreciate that."

The man's eyes lit up. "Thank you. Or… You are welcome."

Al smiled a bit. "Maybe in return I can help you with your Amestrian. And teach you a few of our customs."

"Yes! Yes! I would like that very much."

"Well here's one right now," Al said, his smile growing. "Usually when Amestrians make a deal, they shake hands." He held out his right hand and gestured for the man to extend his own. Then he grabbed the appendage, shaking it up and a down firmly. A silly little grin crossed the Xingeseman's face at the gesture.

"Now we've made the deal."

"Yes. Now we have made the deal."

"And what is your name?"

The man blinked at him before turning red himself. "I am sorry, Ambassador. My name is Fei Qing."

"It's nice to meet you Fei Qing. Please, call me Al."

* * *

When Al finally managed to find the Empress's private receiving chambers, he was forced to wait outside for several minutes while the checked to see if he really was expected. Then he had to endure several minutes while they patted him down to make sure he wasn't carrying any weapons or poisons in to see her.

The room was quite large, probably large enough to host a party rather than just a few private guests. There were probably enough chairs and cushions to host a party as well. But seated in the center of it all at a table that seemed rather low to Al, was the person he really want to see.

"Ambassador," she said politely, smiling. He took that as a sign that he was allowed to approach, so he pulled one of the cushions over to sit across from her.

"Mei. How are you?"

She didn't answer for a moment, instead pouring steaming tea into a dainty china cup and pushing it towards him. Her mouth was held together tightly and her brow was folded thoughtfully.

"Ambassador, I know that we knew each other before." Knew each other? That seemed almost cold to Al. She couldn't at least say that they had been friends? She had had a major crush on him, he had saved her life at least two times, she had helped him commit suicide… Saying that 'they knew each other' seemed like a vast understatement.

"But considering the circumstances, I feel like it would be best if you were to call me Empress instead of by my given name. Though I personally do not object to you using it, others will and if you get used to calling me Mei at all, there is a higher chance of you slipping."

"Oh…"

She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I wish we could talk to each other as Al and Mei, but unfortunately circumstance… well, it just doesn't allow it. How is everyone?"

"They're all fine," he said, unenthusiastically. Then he forced a smile a smile on his face. "Fuhrer Mustang is obviously Fuhrer. One of the stipulations of the surrender with Drachma was that General Amrstrong was no longer allowed to be a part of the military, so when Fuhrer Grumman died just after the war, he got the position. There are a lot of other people who wanted it, but everyone knew that the Colonel was the best choice. Lieutenant Hawkeye is serving as his personal assistant and bodyguard. She's happy there."

"And she hasn't had any more complications with her neck?"

"No," he answered, finally reaching out for the tea cup that Mei— the Empress had offered him earlier. "It's perfectly fine. She was in the hospital for a week or two, but it healed up fine. Of course it wouldn't have healed at all without you."

She smiled again. Al noticed that she wasn't drinking any tea herself.

"Ed and Winry are both fine. I wanted them to get married before I left, but that didn't happen."

"I heard that Ed was turned into quite the propaganda campaign." Al snorted.

"Yeah. The Fullmetal Alchemist. He was like a circus monkey until Mustang finally convinced the military that going behind enemy lines would be better for moral than selling bonds and campaigning. Even though it was a lot more dangerous, I think Ed liked it better. It was about that time though that Winry decided she had to be a doctor to treat the wounded. Neither Ed nor I wanted her to do it since that's what her parents were doing when they died, but she wouldn't take no for an answer."

"And what about you?" she inquired while Al took a sip of his tea. He was sure it was very good, but right now it was so hot that he could hardly taste the flavor.

"I helped out in a factory."

"You weren't fighting?"

"No," Al admitted, pushing the cup away from him slightly. Too hot. He hoped that that wasn't offensive too. "That was part of Ed's agreement with Mustang. Ed played monkey, and I stayed out of the war completely. It wasn't that hard, what with my medical history."

"Do you know what happened to Mr. Scar?"

"I don't," he had to confess. "The Ishvalan community was really split over the war. Some of them wanted to have absolutely nothing to do with it and let Amestrians kill themselves. Others wanted to help out to prove that they were ready to be allies rather than combatants. As far as I know Scar was advocating staying out of the war so that their people could have a break from the hatred that war spawns."

"Mr. Yoki?"

"I have no idea," Al said, laughing. "As far as I know he's probably still out there trying to convince people that he's got a heart of gold while's he trying to swindle your pocket book."

She smiled back at him, but didn't inquire about anything else so silence fell between them.

"Why did you not pour yourself any tea?" he asked to break it.

"Hmm? Oh, too much opportunity for assassination," she dismissed with a slight wave of her hand. "What are your plans while you're here in Xing? I have a hard time believing that Fuhrer Mustang just decided to pick you for the post of Ambassador."

Al didn't answer right away, still staring at her. 'Too much opportunity for assassination'? With tea that she prepared herself?

"I was hoping that I would be able to study the culture. I was really interested to see if I could learn alkahestry while I'm here."

"I'm sure I could find a teacher that would be willing to take you on. You could try to travel to my teacher, Master Hishu. He's one of the best alkahestrists in Xing, but there is no way to get to his home without traveling for a week on bad roads. And he wouldn't tolerate you leaving all the time to deal with Ambassador duties, nor would he come here to teach you. There are several alkahestrists employed here at the palace, but I could not take them away from their employment here to teach you."

"Is there anyone in the surrounding area that I could contact?"

The Empress paused, placing a single hand underneath her chin. The voluminous red sleeve fell so that her forearm was exposed.

"Hmm. Perhaps I would be able to contact my grandfather in the Chang Province. I was told that my second cousin Rikui has become quite proficient. She has been asking for some time now to come to court. Perhaps this is her chance. I'll contact him and see whether or not she would be willing."

"Thank you, thank you very much."

"You're welcome. Perhaps she will have success where I could not."

Al grinned at the mention of the snow dusted shack. "Omph, right?" he said, grinning and gesturing to his temples. She smiled back at him.


	5. Chapter 5

_11 August 1919_

The girl had the features that Al was becoming so familiar with. Dark hair and eyes. He could recognize her relation to Me- The Empress though. They had the same round face shape and large eyes, but while the Empress (even after having grown so much the past four years) was at least two or three heads shorter than him, this girl looked only a head below his height. Her pulled back hair only managed to reach mid back though, whereas the Empress's probably could have easily reached her knees if she let it all down.

"Ambassador," the Empress said calmly when he entered. He bowed deeply, as he had quickly learned was expected upon meeting with the Empress. Not that he met with the Empress very often, in fact this was only the third time in the entire two months he had been here. The time he had met with her after first arriving, once two weeks ago when she told him that his teacher would be arriving in two weeks, and then once now.

The girl stood up from the table she was sitting at and bowed to him, so he repeated the gesture, making sure to bow deep enough to show his respect to a teacher. It had taken Fei Qing hours to get him to recognize the proper depths of bows for different honors.

She flushed when he did so.

"Hi, my name is Alphonse Elric," he said as he walked closer to her.

The girl glanced at the Empress, who nodded. "It is nice to meet you, Ambassador. My name is Rikui Chang." Her voice was differently accented than the Xingese Al was used to. Mei had probably had more time to adjust or lose her accent. He had never really heard her speak Xingese before coming here.

"Are you going to be my teacher?"

"That is what the Empress wishes." He smiled, though something in his stomach died at her formality.

"Rikui has agreed to come and teach you at my request, Ambassador. She is quite a good alkahestrist herself, though she didn't study with Master Hishu like I did. She will teach you well."

He nodded and smiled again.

"I will check up on your lessons if my schedule ever allows it. Not that I don't trust you, Rikui, but since I am personally sponsoring the Ambassador's lessons, it would be good for me to know where he stands. No foreigner has ever been taught the Dragon's Art. Do not make me regret my decision to trust you, Ambassador."

Al promised that he wouldn't, bowing and thanking her again.

"You may go."

He bowed again, before backing up a few feet, then turning around and walking out. He was surprised to notice that Rikui left with him. As the door closed behind them, he wondered whether or not she was planning on starting their lessons now.

She didn't seem to have a notion of starting lessons though, because she turned around and grinned at him.

"I am so glad to get out of that room."

"I'm… sorry?"

She continued to smile. "Mei was always my favorite cousin, but all the "Your Highness" and bowing and smiling and asking for her permission to sip my tea? It's annoying."

The corner of his mouth twitched up. It was like she was reading his mind of the past two months.

"I feel like I'm in over my head with all of these formalities," he admitted, causing her to nod and smile.

"No kidding." She bit her lip, then seemed to make some sort of decision. "I have to ask. Are you… Are you related to Edward Elric?"

He blinked. She didn't know? "Yes, he's my brother."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh." The size of her grin increased. "And… are you aware that the mighty Empress of Xing, Daughter of the Morning, used to have the biggest crush on your brother? I probably know more about him than you do, I heard so much about him. Edward Elric, the People's Alchemist with golden hair."

"I did actually," he responded, smiling back. "She was quite disappointed when she found out what he was really like. Started blowing things up… literally."

The news that her cousin had started blowing things up did not seem to alarm or surprise Rikui at all. She fixated on a different part of Al's statement. "And what is he actually like?"

"Short," Al said, now grinning. If Ed heard him saying that, he would probably earn himself a week or two in the hospital. "With an even shorter temper."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. She called him a rice-grain boy and he started blowing things up too. There was just a lot of blowing things up going on in that first meeting. Well, technically it wasn't the first meeting. The first time I met her, she kicked me into a train, jumped on Brother's face – she didn't know that he was who he was – and then blew things up aiding in the escape of a murder."

Rikui gaped at him, and Al couldn't help grinning. "I'm guessing she hasn't had time to explain the story to you?"

"No…" she responded, jaw still lax. "I… what?"

Al chuckled. "It's a really long story."

"I've got time. The reason I'm here, after all, is to teach you alkahestry, so I really don't… I mean I can make time for you, or…" she paused, getting tongue twisted. "I can listen to your story because I have time because I don't have to do anything here except you… I mean teach you. I mean…"

"It's alright, I get what you mean." She rubbed the back of her neck, turning red. "Do you… want to hear the story?"

"Yes," she said firmly, and Al smiled.

"Alright. So, the first time I met Mei… the Empress—"

* * *

"I don't understand."

The man sitting across from him lacked any signs of sympathy, despite the repeated utterance of 'I'm sorry'. Everything about him, as a matter of fact, screamed indifference. He wasn't even facing him, instead addressing a sheaf of papers in his hands.

"The position has already been filled. We can only take on so many workers, or else everyone will be paid so little everyone will starve."

"I was promised this job," Hua said slowly as he fought to keep his voice level. "Your boss promised me the position, said that I earned it with my service in the army."

"Everyone fought in the army," the unsympathetic man said, not even looking at him as he flipped through a few papers.

"Not everyone was a prisoner of war in Gondappi for two years," he snapped, before putting a leash on his anger with a deep breath. "You called me a hero… why will you now not let me work. I am willing to." A desperate idea occurred to him, and he offered it without even thinking. "What if I… I will work for less. I will take the lowered wage. I need work—if I do not get it I will starve."

This seemed to give the other man pause. Or at least it made him stop shuffling his papers.

"A lowered wage…"

Hua jumped on the lifeline this man seemed to be offering. "Yes. A lowered wage. I need this work, please."

A few seconds pause. Then finally: "No, I'm afraid not. It is simply impossible."

Hua gaped at the man as he picked up his papers again.

"But… please you do not understand—"

"I understand perfectly. The position has already been filled. It is impossible. Now leave."

"But I need this work, please, I have tried everywhere else—"

"I am sorry. Please leave now."

"I will not leave until I have a job!"

The man stood up abruptly. "I will give you one last chance to leave, now before I have you dragged out of here by your ankles! Leave, you worthless scum!"

The sound of something snapping was almost audible.

Hua threw himself across the room without even stopping to think about the consequences of his actions. All he could remember was the men who would stand there, kicking him again and again, calling him scum and other far worse terms. How much he hated them. How much he wanted to destroy them.

The man fought, he really did. But against Hua's mindless rage and extensive training, he was helpless.

"Call me scum one more time," he shouted after the man finally fell to the floor, sinking his foot into his stomach. "Say it! Say it!"

"Mercy!"

"Say it!"

"Save me!"

Hua's foot froze an inch away from the man as he breathed in one, then another sharp breath.

"Why? Who?"

"Have mercy…"

"Who!"

"Chang," the man moaned, almost crying. "Tiang Lau. Chang clan. Chang."

"What is he? Who is he? Why!"

"Chang. He's Chang," the man repeated as if that made perfect sense.

And it did.

Hua Pang stepped out from the building a few minutes later, pulling his hat on low over his face. If no one saw him leaving, hopefully no one would be able to connect him to what had happened here. No one could. He couldn't let that happen.

* * *

_21 December 1919_

From the very moment Al began his tutelage under Rikui, he was confused. The very concept of _qi_ was so foreign that he couldn't even wrap his head around it. It was like she was expecting him to all of a sudden develop another sense organ. Which was almost exactly what she wanted him to do. _Qi_ was almost like an entirely new sense that he had yet to be able to… well, sense.

She told him to have patience, and he tried. But he really did hope that after the four or five months that they had been working on it, he would be able to understand that at least.

Even if his alkahestry studies weren't progressing as much as Al had hoped, he couldn't deny that he was learning at a near exponential rate. Every new thing he learned sparked something new to learn and explore. Fei Qing was a huge help in explaining all of the different customs. They had even taken quite a few trips out together into the capital to explore. Fei confessed to Al that he had never really been in the city much other than the palace.

He learned the language, the cuisine, how to eat with chopsticks, what make him sick, what parts of the city he needed to keep a hand on his wallet, where he could expect to be bowed to and where he was expected to bow.

His alkahestry lessons frequently took him up into the mountains, despite the fact that it was well into winter now, because Rikui claimed that it would help him clear his mind. There was enough life in the forests on the mountains surrounding the capital to be able to develop his sense of _qi_, but not so much that he would feel overwhelmed or stressed like if he learned in the midst of the city. In fact, that many people all in one area if anything probably blocked his ability to access the Dragon's Pulse.

"It's the flow of the life around you, you just have to—"

"I just have to tap into the flow and read it. I am a part of it, as well as the smallest ant. The patterns are there, I just have to recognize it."

Rikui pursed her lips. "Al. I'm just trying to help."

"I know," he said, sighing. "You're just trying to help me understand, but I'm just not getting it. Do you think that maybe you have to learn how to sense it when you're young, or you can't develop the skill?" Everyone he had ever met who was able to understand the mystical property seemed to have been taught to sense it since they were children. The Empress hadn't been able to explain it to him because it had always been a part of her; trying to get him to understand it had been like trying to explain sight to a blind man.

She hesitated, before shaking her head. "No, I'm pretty sure that anyone can learn to read the Dragon's Pulse. It's a part of life, of living. Being alive. How could anyone not learn how to feel that?"

"I don't know, I seem to be doing a pretty good job of it," he remarked dully.

"You just need to let yourself relax. It's there to be felt. Now close your eyes."

He did so, taking a deep breath in and slowly releasing it.

"Reach into the earth. Feel it. Embrace it."

Well at least she didn't point at her temples and go "And there. I feel it."

All the same, he let himself relax.

The thoughts he turned to though were not those of mystical energy and life force though, but that of his brother and (he had to grin at the thought) his fiancé. Al had gotten the letter from Ed that morning. They were finally going to get married. And then once they were married, knowing those two, he'd probably be an Uncle in no time. Just imagine, Ed and Winry's offspring…

Ed and Winry together creating a life. Al's little niece or nephew. Just a collection of chemicals and energy, but so much more than that.

One is All, All is One.

He noticed the light slowly. Or at least he thought it was a light. It certainly seemed to have a brighter quality about it. At first he thought that the sun had shifted out from behind some clouds, but then wouldn't the light look red from behind his eyelids?

He focused more on the… light? Pinprick? It wasn't quite warmth either.

And then there. Right next to it, another one. Brighter, but not quite as warm. Or smooth. Or electric? He couldn't quite explain…

He opened his eyes, expecting to see some sort of flashlight or maybe the sun starting to shine through the branches (a sign that it was time to start heading back to the palace), but all he saw was Rikui standing next to a large tree.


	6. Chapter 6

_15 May 1920_

Al was in the middle of practicing remote transmutation when the Empress interrupted his lesson.

He didn't even notice her approach, since he was so focused on creating a box in the area marked by the five knives about ten feet away. He vaguely noticed Rikui stiffening out of the corner of his eye, but other than that didn't waver in his focus. This time, this time for he sure. It had been a failure almost every other time he had tried, but he was sure to get it this time.

Let go of the alchemy. Let the _qi_ guide you, he reminded himself. This isn't a normal transmutation, you have to use the energy around you.

He took another deep breath, and then activated the array.

The circle he had his hands pressed to lit up bright blue, sparking energy everywhere… unfortunately there was no activity whatsoever in the array ten feet away.

He sighed, dropping his head and letting his hair fall in his face. No doubt Rikui would chime in with her encouragement about how he would get it next time just like the other three hundred times.

He appreciated what she was doing for him, he really did. His frustration had nothing to do with her, it had everything to do with him. He had been so excited when he went to Ed and Winry's wedding to tell them about how he could now sense _qi_. Ed had congratulated him, telling him with his arm around Winry's waist and a grin on his face that it would be no time until he had remote transmutation down.

No such luck.

Even with all the warnings that it would be hard, and continual insistence that it took most people years of study to be able to learn alkahestry, Al was still dissatisfied with the results. True, it had only been two months, and he had been warned plenty of times that it took most people years to learn, but he had learned alchemy when he was four years old. And he figured out how to sense _qi_, surely that was the hardest part! Ed and Winry were already expecting a baby and he couldn't even make a simple box a few feet away! Why could he not understand this?

He was about to urge Rikui for the chance to go again, when he realized that she wasn't even looking at him.

"Your Majesty, you honor us with your presence." She bowed perfectly at the waist, bringing her hands together and dipping her chin to her chest. Al hastened to his feet to copy the movement. However the Empress just waved her hand quickly and they straightened.

Al was surprised to see that she was only accompanied by one guard (and Xiao Mei of course). Usually she had a whole army of them following her everywhere she went. She was still wearing her Imperial robes, complete with massive crown, though.

"How are your lessons going, Ambassador?"

"They are… proceeding, Your Majesty, thank you for asking."

"You haven't gotten remote transmutation yet?"

"No I have not, Your Majesty."

"But Rikui tells me that you do read _qi_."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Her dark eyes looked at him as if she was considering something.

"Rikui."

"Yes, Your Majesty?" It was almost amazing to Al how she could bounce between such a stiff and formal demeanor to being playful so quickly.

"Have you explained Xionxi's Principle to him yet?"

Rikui flushed. "No, Your Majesty."

The Empress nodded. "Would you permit me? You are his teacher after all."

"Of course you may explain, Your Majesty. Your Majesty may do whatever she wishes."

Oddly enough, the Empress paused at her cousin's words. She stared at the ground, before raising her chin and nodding.

"Thank you, Cousin. Ambassador, Xionxi's Principle states that the act of sensing _qi_ is no different than that of using it to transmute. Although I am not proficient in alchemy myself, I am familiar with the way it works. Unless I'm mistaken, you're trying to use _qi_ as some sort of directing force aren't you? You're trying to use the flow of the Dragon's Pulse to carry your transmutation to the distance."

"… Yeah, how did you know?"

She smiled, probably the first time Al had seen her smile since he had first arrived.

"Well, as an alchemist that's about the only way you would know how to do it. But if remote transmutation worked like that, I probably wouldn't have been much help during the fights with Father. I would have been doing alchemy just like everyone else in Amestris only transferring it. That wouldn't have worked against his methods."

He frowned. "But I thought you were supposed to use the _qi_ to direct the transmutation."

"Well you are, but you're not supposed to perform the transmutation and expect the _qi_ to carry it to where you want it to go. It doesn't work like that."

"Then how does it work?"

She came closer to him, bending down so that she was crouched over the dirt. In the space of maybe three seconds she had dropped five knives (Al didn't know where on earth they had come from but there they were) into a perfect pentagonal shape and drawing a likewise perfect circle and pentagram connecting them all.

She barely glanced up before throwing another set of five across the area so that they stuck out of a tree.

"You're not going to tell me that 'now you do it' are you?"

She cast him a single smile before returning to a serious expression.

"You aren't using the _qi_ to carry the transmutation from Point A to Point B, you use the flow of _qi_ to perform the transmutation at Point B. You use the two different areas as anchor points. This array," she tapped the one she was crouched over with a single, ringed finger, "allows you to access the flow of _qi_ that runs right to the other one. When you access the _qi_ that runs through that point, you harness it to change the potential of Point B."

"You lost me at harnessing the potential."

"Every object has the potential to change. It's part of matter, it's a part of energy. Things change. Nothing will stay the same forever."

"Sort of like All is One, One is All. We all die and become a part of something else which will then die and become a part of something else. A rock might become a part of me, and I might become part of an ant, and an ant might become a part of the grass."

"Sort of," she said, nodding her head – no small task with the crown she was wearing. "That tree isn't always going to be a tree of that exact shape or size. It will get bigger, it could decay, it could get cut down. It has the potential to be something else or take a different form. By using the anchor point of the five knives, you have the ability to change the flow of _qi_ around it, thus affecting its potential and changing it. Does that make sense?"

He winced. "I think so, but… I could use an example."

"Alright," she said, leaning backwards a little. He noticed that the skirts of her robe were getting dirty with the dust of the space they were in – about the only place in the palace that Al nor Rikui felt bad about using for alkahestry lessons/practice.

"Do you remember when we first met, when you first saw me use alkahestry."

"Of course." It was hard to forget something like that. She looked around, before lowering her voice, probably so her guard couldn't hear what she was saying. It probably would not do well for Xing to know some of the situations their Empress had gotten herself into.

"I blew a hole in train, releasing the coal dust into the air."

"I remember. But the train doesn't have a sense of _qi_."

"Wrong, actually. It was steal, and steal is made up of iron and carbon, both key components of the human body. You have no idea how much of it might have once been a part of some living thing. Everything has some sort of _qi_ signature. The mountains, the rock. Even if it's only had contact with life, it has a _qi_ signature. But that steel… forgive me for being metaphysical, but it wanted to be free. It had the potential to change like it did, to bow out. I used the _qi_ to change the shape, just like you would in an alchemic transmutation. Only instead of changing the direct composition, deconstructing and then reconstructing it, I used its _qi_ and the _qi_ around it to manipulate it."

"Okay, I think I've got it," Al said after a moment of silence while he processed what she said. "But… just to make sure, could you give an example? I mean I know you're busy but…"

The Empress blinked, then glanced back at her guard as if only now remembering that he was there. Then she turned a slight pink color and quickly stood up.

"I… I'm sorry, Ambassador, but I shouldn't…"

"But I really think I almost had it there, I just want to see."

The Empress glanced backwards at her guard once again, but he only stared forward, expressionless.

Then she bent down once again and touched her palm to the array.

Immediately both circles, the one on the ground and the tree, lit up brilliant blue. Al jogged over to the tree in time to see a likeness of Xiao Mei mold itself out of the bark. He grinned, before pulling the knives out of the tree and handing them back to her.

"Thank you for the demonstration."

"Of course," she said, smiling once again. "Now you try. You can watch and study as much as you want, but unless you actually try—"

"Your Highness!"

All three of them (Al had almost forgotten Rikui was even still there) turned at the voice. The guard stayed expressionless and facing Mei, though.

"Hai, what is it?"

"Your Majesty, we have been searching for you everywhere! You should not run off so."

"I informed Lien Ti that I was going to check up on the Ambassador's alkahestry lessons." Just like her cousin, Al had to be amazed at her skill to jump from a helpful instructor to formal dignitary once again so quickly.

"With all due respect to the Ambassador, Your Majesty, there are far more pressing matters to be taken care of than watching an Ambassador struggle to learn our art. There is the agreement with Xiongnu, and we have yet to make the quota for our payments to Gondappi. The Feng representative is coming in three days and—"

"I get the picture," the Empress snapped, shutting the man up. Almost immediately though, her shoulders slumped slightly. "I am sorry, Hai. You do your job well, and I should not lash out at you because the news you bring is unpleasant."

"You do not have to apologize to one as lowly as myself, Your Majesty," Hai said, bowing his head to her.

"My position is no excuse for my behavior. Please, inform me as we walk."

The man nodded, then fell into step slightly behind the Empress and they walked away. Al was left standing there, staring after them with his mouth almost hanging open. The guard followed behind them, leaving him and Rikui together again.

"Al? Do you want to try what the Empress suggested?"

"What? Oh. Right. Yes."

* * *

Even though he knew he probably shouldn't actually be going to seek an audience with the Empress outside of court, especially not for something as trivial as this… but despite the way she had acted so aloof towards him the past months, he really felt like it was news she'd want to hear.

He had done it. It had taken a couple of tries after she left, but he had done. And then he had done it again.

Both Al and Rikui were thrilled. For different reasons though. While glad was absolutely glad that he had learned how to do exactly what he had come here to learn… he had learned what he came here to learn. What with his experience with medical alchemy from trying to bring his mother back to life and what he had studied during the war in case Mustang's protection didn't prove to be enough, it had literally only taken Al the rest of the day to get a hold on being able to heal the cut that Rikui had given herself to see if he could heal. He was so exhilarated he felt like he was about ready to fly all the way home to Amestris.

Which was what he intended on doing.

Well, not flying. That would be impossible. But certainly going home.

He had learned what he wanted to learn. And while Xing was amazing and it was the experience of a lifetime, and an incredible one at that… he missed home. He was going to be and uncle in seven months, and he wanted to be there to help Ed and Winry out. They would need someone to watch the baby when they got too exhausted. Ed probably wouldn't know what to do with himself after all.

Rikui had looked like he had just slapped her when he told her, and she had gapped for a while before asking if he was sure while he just confirmed it.

"Are you ever going to come back?" she had asked and he had to confess that he didn't quite know. He had once had hoped to travel all of the East and explore and learn about everything out there. But after the war the only people as unpopular east of Xing as the Xingese were Amestrians. So there went that plan. But since he was technically Ambassador, he would probably be showing up again.

Now to tell the Empress. He wanted to thank her for her hospitality, and most of all thank her for explaining everything to him yesterday. There was no way he ever would have thought about it like that without her help. Without her he probably would have struggled with remote transmutation for another nine months.

As he approached her door, however, he was told that she wasn't in her chambers. But court wasn't in session, so she couldn't be in the throne room. He supposed she could be in her own bedroom, but that wasn't like the Empress at all. She usually woke up before the sun. It was almost noon. And she didn't take naps.

He was surprised however, after giving up on the proposition of going to see her in favor of taking a walk in the gardens, to find her among some flowers he honestly did not know the name of. They were pink.

He opened his mouth to greet her, when he realized she was talking to her small panda cat. Well if there was something he had learned in his brief moments in her actual presence it was that while interrupting her was a capital offence, interrupting a conversation she was having with Xiao Mei was almost crime enough to have you sewn into a sack with a rabid dog and thrown in the river.

Not something he enjoyed doing on his days off.

So he stayed silent, disappearing behind a bush of imported roses.

"—and they all want answers but I just don't have them… Xiao Mei I don't know what I'm supposed to do. There's no way to make the quota for Gondappi. We just can't get that much to them that fast, and they're going to be furious once we don't. I knew I should have tried to bargain more to get those prisoners back, but the people were already furious they had been left there so long, I had to get them back. And now we're stuck with this debt, and we never quite paid off the ones from the war.

"Meanwhile, Drachman businessmen are staring us down like the next bear they need to take down to be declared warriors. They're trying to undercut our markets, and right now it's working. There aren't enough jobs to go around. And not enough money either. But I can't let us go bankrupt… But I don't know what to do…"

Al swallowed. He was no supposed to be overhearing this conversation. This was not stuff he was supposed to know.

"And I'm pretty sure the Feng's are out to kill me while they're here at the palace, which means another two weeks of not bathing and wearing that awful perfume I hate to cover up the smell. As if I need one more thing to go wrong and annoy me."

He recognized the slight chitter of Xiao Mei's incomprehensible response. Well, incomprehensible to any normal human. Mei and the panda has a special connection.

"Except I can't, Xiao Mei. I just… can't. And I don't know how I'm supposed to. And of course on top of all of this, I'm supposed to be hosting another 'let's make Xing do whatever we want them to because they're too defenseless and poor party—"

Al stuffed his fingers in his ears and decidedly turned away. This was something for Xiao Mei's ears alone, and he would respect that.

He couldn't keep the words she had already spoken out of his ears though.


	7. Chapter 7

**Merry Christmas everyone! Unless you don't celebrate Christmas, in which case, Happy December 25th!**

* * *

"We think she's already starting to show, I'm so excited!" Ed continued to ramble, as he had been for the past twenty minutes or so. If Al was being honest, he was only half paying attention. It wasn't that hard when Ed got like this. He imagined this was what Colonel Mustang had felt like all the time when Colonel Hughes would call him. The only responses that were really necessary were "That's great!" and "Of course." Not only were those the only two needed responses, but they were more or less interchangeable, so he could even just chose one or the other every time without really paying attention to what was being told to him.

"That's great."

"I'm just not sure how things are going to go from here. She hasn't really gotten very sick even though a lot of people told us that she would be. She could get a lot sicker later, or maybe she's just not going to get sick. Someone told us that that was possible. Some women just don't get really sick when they're pregnant. The woman who told us that also said that sometimes it just depends on the kid, some will cause more sickness than others."

"Of course."

"I'm going to be there for her, no matter what though. Nothing is going to keep me away from my baby. He's going to be the most perfect thing to ever grace this planet!"

"Of course."

"She did also warn that sometimes when you're not quite getting as sick there might be something wrong with the baby. I mean, he is going to be perfect, but it might be a bit harder you know. Like he might be born super early or super late."

"That's great."

There was a pause during which Al hurriedly had to recall exactly what he had just said.

"Al… did you just say that it's great that your first nephew is going to be born early and potentially run into health issues?"

"… uh…"

"Are you even listening to me?"

Al winced. "To be fair Ed, can you really blame me?"

"Well, no not really," he had to admit, after another pause filled with static over the phone. The connection between Xing and Amestris wasn't the best. It was a near miracle they were able to talk on the phone at all. "But it's more than that. You're distracted. What is it?"

"What? Oh, it's nothing."

"No, it's not. You've been over the moon to be an Uncle. Now you're hardly paying attention. What's wrong? Is this about coming home?"

Well, Al couldn't really deny that it was. Not so much about coming home itself, he was more than excited to do that. It was more leaving knowing what he knew that bothered him. He thought he had always sort of known that the Empress wasn't quite happy. But he had never really known the full extent of the problem. And he wasn't sure if he would be able to return home in good conscious with the knowledge weighing on him. He wished there was something he could do to help, but he knew she wouldn't want it.

"_I don't remember asking for your help."_

"_You can't possibly be that naïve! These guys show no mercy to anyone who is of no use to them. You have to get out of here, quickly!"_

At least that time it had been as simple as picking her up and running away. So perhaps not quite that simple seeing as he had to keep her in his chest plate for almost an entire day, but he was sure the actions would not be appreciated if duplicated. He almost had to smile at the thought of him just bursting into the throne room in the middle of a meeting with Drachman dignitaries, picking her up, and running away. That would certainly go over magnificently.

"Al? Hey, you still listening?"

"What? Oh… I'm sorry Brother. I guess I just… there's just a bit of a problem going on here that I don't really want to leave behind without resolving at least a bit."

"So go resolve it," Ed said simply.

Al's jaw dropped. "What… it's not that simple, Ed."

"Why not?"

Al opened his mouth to respond, before closing it. "Well… they… she… I… I don't really know." He frowned before smirking. "It's not actually that simple is it?"

"We're just simple people, Al." The axiom was so reminiscent of Resembool that he couldn't help but smile. Back in the green fields, everything seemed so much clearer. Everything seemed black and white, with maybe a shade of grey in between them. Here there seemed to be a hundred or more shades of grey to every statement.

"I miss Resembool."

"Yeah," Ed said, and the sigh even managed to get picked up through the static. "Things really are just… if there's a problem, fix it. I don't know, maybe I've been here too long. I'm not in touch with all the politics and crap… Sorry, I'm not of much help."

"No, actually that was completely helpful," he said quickly. "I need to resolve the problem. That's it."

"I'm happy I can help. Just go ahead and fix it before you come home. I don't want you to be distracted and thinking about it."

"Of course."

"See you in a few days, Al." Al couldn't help but smiling into the phone, his eyes softening.

"See you in a few days, Ed."

* * *

He tried to find some way to talk with her that very day, but her guards wouldn't let him in to talk with her at all. Talking to her during court was pretty much not even a consideration. He knew that she would have trouble accepting his help at all, there was no way that she would accept it if he offered it in front of the entire court.

He considered asking for a private audience after the court meeting, but as soon court was dismissed Fei grabbed him by the arm and dragged him all the way to a small going away party for both him and Rikui. She was returning to the Change Province since she was done with teaching him.

"I'll be glad to escape all the politics though," she confessed as they talked on a pair of cushions around the foot of a table. Whereas a 'going away party' in Amestris might constitute balloons and music and streamers and probably something alchoholic, instead Al was treated to a small gathering of well-wishers and friends that Al had made. Well, there was also something alcoholic, but Al was avoiding that.

"But you're the clan leader's daughter, won't you be leaving the politics here for more back home?"

"I won't be able to escape it entirely, no," she said as she shrugged. She however had chosen to indulge in the alcohol, although she had only had one maybe two drinks. "But it's not as bad back home as it is here. At least there not every person around me is there for the politics or to serve the politicians. There are some people with real heads on their shoulders."

"I didn't know that everyone here had fake heads. Everything makes more sense now! Why couldn't you have told me that when I first came here?" She laughed, making Al grin. He loved when he was able to make people laugh, especially Rikui.

"Okay, so I supposed there are a few people here with real heads. Maybe one. Or two. There's you. Fei…" They looked over to the Xingese noble who was chatting amiably to one of his cousins about Amestrian traditions of handshakes. "He's got a real head, it's just empty."

"Hey! He's a good friend."

"He is, I'm not saying that. He's just… missing a few marbles."

"Just because he likes Amestrian customs, he's crazy?"

"Well… no, that's not what I… I didn't mean to offend you, Al… He just gets—"

"It's alright, I get what you mean," he said quickly. She was just trying to make a joke, she didn't really mean anything hurtful towards one of the few people who had readily accepted Al's friendship. All the same… moving past the topic was probably the wisest move. "What about the Empress?"

"… what about the Empress?" she said cautiously.

"I think she has a real head."

Rikui pursed her lips. Then she dropped her drink on the table next to them, and put her hand on Al's knee.

"Al… I know you and my cousin were friends when she first came to Amestris. We were friends too; she was my absolute favorite cousin. But she's not that cousin anymore. She's the Empress, and she's become that role so fully I'm not even sure that part of my cousin that I loved even exists anymore. I find it hard to believe it could be any different from the Mei Chang you knew in Amestris."

So perhaps the subject change was not the best path to take.

"… Oh."

"I'm sorry to say it…"

"No, no, it's quite alright. You're free to your opinions."

That didn't mean he had to agree.

And if she was right… well… that would make leaving Xing that much easier.

* * *

"Hai, are there any more requests today?"

"No, Your Majesty. Do you wish to retire?"

"As long as there are no more requests you wish to bring before me, yes." She locked eyes with the rest of the room, seeming to stare each one of them down. Al felt his stomach lurch. He was leaving tomorrow, so if there was ever a chance for him to talk to her, it was now. He opened his mouth, but nothing seemed to come out. He couldn't miss this chance.

"Very well, you are all dismissed."

He swore in his head. It seemed this was one of the days when the rest of the court would file out under her watchful gaze.

He had missed his chance to ask for a private audience, but… instead of filing out, Al ducked behind the stands where the courtiers would usually sit during court meetings.

As soon as everyone was gone, he slunk out to see the stands to see her slumped slightly in her throne.

"Empress."

"Ambassador," she said, sounding alarmed. She looked shocked. Or at least she did for a few seconds before she carefully and quickly wiped the emotion from her face. "You should not be here, court was dismissed."

"I know," he said. "But… I wanted to speak with you alone at least once before I leave."

"Of course," she said, nodding slightly. How she managed to do so with that crown on her head, he had no idea. He had heard from Rikui herself that it was so massive that she couldn't even wear the thing by itself. It required a whole second apparatus hidden underneath her hair to be able to seat it right on her head. The neck muscles required were the same, though.

"You're taking the train?"

"Yes."

"Good. Your journey should be relatively comfortable."

"More comfortable than walking, I suppose."

She gave him a slight smile. "Much. I hope your stay was nice. I am glad that you managed to learn everything you wanted to."

"I wanted to thank you for that, actually. I never would have thought about remote transmutation like that without your prompting."

She smiled again, though this time it seemed much more genuine. "I was happy to be of assistance. Rikui may be a proficient alkhestrist but she doesn't understand alchemy at all, and therefore has a harder time understanding the way you think. It is only to be expected."

Al nodded, for lack of a better way to respond to that. 'That's great' would not pass here, though he supposed that 'of course' might work.

"All the same, thank you."

Now it was her turn to nod. Al could sense the conversation coming to an end, even though he hadn't even broached the topic he truly wanted to discuss.

"Well, I hope your trip goes well—"

"Wait."

She raised a single eyebrow.

"Empress…" He took a deep breath, before softening his voice. "Mei."

That one word caused her entire back to stiffen.

"Ambassador, do not be so forward—"

"If you will forgive me, Your Majesty, that's going to be the least of my forwardness in this conversation. And you can ignore me, or send me away if you want. But I cannot leave this country in good conscious until we've talked about this."

Although her back was still stiff as a board, her face fell completely blank.

"Guards. Leave us."

"But Your Majesty—"

"Leave. Remain outside. I am not defenseless. You too, Feyan." The guard that stood behind her almost every waking moment stiffened.

"Your Majesty—"

"I said," she snapped, "remain outside."

Feyan stood stock still for the space of maybe ten seconds, obviously debating whether to follow his Empress's orders or to put her safety above her wishes. He must have decided on the former however, because he joined the small troop of guards that left the throne room. He was however the prize winner of the most fearsome glare leveled Al's direction.

"Ambassador, I don't know what you're planning on discussing with me as to be so forward as to call me by my first name, but—"

"You're not happy."

She blinked. Al took her momentary confusion as a chance to move closer. Just enough so he didn't feel like he was talking to her from across the room.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not happy, Mei. In fact, you're miserable. I can see it. Not just about Gondappai or Drachma… You are miserable as Empress."

"I didn't become Empress because it's a fun job, Ambassador. I sought to become Empress to help Xing. To help my clan, to help my family. In short to help others. It was a selfless act, my own… happiness is inconsequential in this situation."

"No it's not. Mei… it's great that you want to help your clan and your family. And you've done that. But… if you're hating every moment of it, is it really worth it?"

"Of course it is," she shot back instantly.

Al bit his lip. This was not the best way to go about it. He understood the fact that she was being selfless and trying to help other people, but if she was so miserable she was hating every moment she spent as Empress, would she really be able to help anyone? Perhaps… a more blunt approach?

"Ambassador, really it's none of your concern."

He gaped at her. "None of my concern? Of course it's of my concern, because you're of my concern."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm really not. As an Ambassador, your concern is with Xing, not me."

"I overheard you." It was her turn to gape. The comment was probably such an unexpected comeback to her statement she had no idea how to react.

"What?"

"I overheard you the other day in the gardens. I know you're stressed. And you're almost hitting a breaking point."

The stiff board back was back.

"This isn't something that's recent, or just being brought on. In fact, I'd say it's been going on since you became Empress. And I really don't blame you, I mean one of the first things that happened after you became Empress was the war and that would be horrible for any ruler to have to deal with."

"I don't need your sympathy, Ambass—"

"But it's more than that, isn't it? It's not just everything that's been going on, you… you need someone to rely on."

"I most certainly do not—"

"That's not a bad thing. You're close to falling apart at the seams. If you don't stop and slow down…"

"I don't need help—"

"It's okay to rely on someone. It's even healthy in fact. I know I can't convince Gondappai to forgive all the debts, but there's got to be something I can do to help. Maybe talk to someone—"

"I don't need your help!" She practically screamed at him, leaning forward and pounding her hands on the arms of the chair.

"… I was just trying to—"

"NO! I DON'T! I am the leader of Xing; I AM EMPRESS!"

Al stood there, not saying a word. He felt like he had been punched in the gut or worse. There was a sick feeling in his stomach and he was fairly sure it had nothing to do with any of the food he had been eating.

"Mei…"

"I don't need your help," she repeated, but this time her voice was weak and vulnerable. "Just please… please go."

He didn't. In fact, he did the complete opposite. If she hadn't sent the guards away, they might have killed him on the spot for moving within five feet of their Empress. But he went far closer to her than that, moving until he was kneeling directly in front of her. She did her best to straighten and look at him down her nose, but he was so much taller than her that even kneeling she was only a head taller than him.

His fingers gently probed behind her ears until he unhooked the contraption that held the elaborate crown in place. It was sure to be the upmost heresy to have a non-royal, a commoner, and a foreigner to boot, touch the Royal Crown of Xing, but he did, lifting it off her head and the setting it _on the ground_.

Then, because he already seemed destined to break every social regulation followed in this strange country, he pulled the Empress of Xing, Princess of the Chang clan, but more importantly, Mei into his arms.

She was stiff and stunned, as if she had never received comfort like this.

Al realized belatedly that she might not have ever. From her harsh family and poor circumstances to Amestris, it was conceivable that she never had had someone to pull her close and tell her that it was alright. She must have certainly never encountered the experience after her ascension to the throne.

Then her arms wrapped around his torso, and Al felt her hands ball in the fabric of his long tunic.

The Empress did not cry that night. She most certainly did not sob into an Amestrian's shoulder, holding onto him for all the comfort she could possibly find in his strong embrace. The Empress was an Imperial ruler, strong and powerful.

Mei Chang did, though.

And for the first time since setting foot in this infernal country, with this Xingese girl in his arms, Al felt like things were finally right once again.


	8. Chapter 8

**... annnddd a Happy New Year!**

* * *

He waited until the sobs gently petered out before kissing her gently on the head and lifting her up in his arms, bridal style. He carried her halfway down the hall before she stopped him.

"No… don't take me out there, please Al… they can't see me like this. They _can't_."

"They won't," he promised. "I won't ever let anyone else see you like this." And he meant it. Ever since that moment under Central when he had scooped the girl up in his arms to carry her away from the fighting to safety, he had felt protective of her. He knew that he had to protect her no matter what. This only made that feeling stronger than it ever had been before.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, still shuddering slightly.

"It's okay Mei. It's okay."

It was a challenge getting the Empress past her guards and to her room. She showed him a secret passageway that supposedly only the Emperor/Empress themselves knew about that led either directly to the Imperial room or to the river that separated the palace from the forest of the mountains behind it. He had to transmute a door to actually get into her room since it was locked and Mei was nodding off in his arms, but the majority of her guards were still outside the throne room, not guarding her bedroom.

It was a bit of challenge trying to get her to let go of him when he reached her bed, but after about three minutes and finally waking her up, she let go of his tunic and curled up in the lavish blankets and pillows.

"Don't leave me," she muttered when he stood up. "Please…"

"I'll be right here when you wake up," he promised gently. "I'm not going to leave you Mei. Not ever."

She fell asleep.

* * *

Mei felt… different when she woke up. Ever since the moment she had been named heir to her father's throne she had been scared for her life. Every moment, awake or asleep, she knew that she was in danger of being assassinated. That had never been a new threat, but it had been a threat that had increased seven fold since her ascension.

For the first time since that moment… she felt safe.

She didn't feel like she needed to be alert for the hundreds of opportunities someone would have to kill her. She didn't feel like she had the hopes of her entire clan squared directly on her shoulders. She didn't feel like she was solely responsible for the millions of people in her country. She didn't feel like there were millions of people with their eyes on her, waiting for her to fail.

She felt _safe_.

She didn't want to lose that feeling. She didn't want to open her eyes, not for anything.

Except…

"Mei?"

So open her eyes she did.

Her first thought was that it was some sort of vision. Perhaps she had died. That image of a handsome, caring man could only be divine. The gold caring eyes and matching hair had to support that. Then as the sleep continued to recede and Mei regained control of her mental faculties, she realized who it was at her bedside.

With that realization came the memory of the night before.

Mei almost wanted to hide her face under her many blankets after remembering. How could she allow him to see her so weak? She had dissolved into a mess of emotions and weakness in from him! How could she expect to stay strong for her people if she was falling apart at the slightest prompting from an Amestrian?

Then she realized something else. She probed behind her ears.

"Where's my crown? Where is it!"

She was about ready to go into a full panic, when Al directed her attention to her bedside table, where it was gently resting, along with the apparatus she wore to keep it in place.

"You should not have touched my crown, Ambassador," she said, trying to control her breathing. "That is an ancient, sacred relic of the Xingese royalty—"

"Mei," he said, cutting her off, a capital offence, not the mention the fact that he used her first name. "I don't care."

She jerked back slightly.

"How could you say something—"

"I. Don't. Care." His voice was very measured and calm. "I don't care, Mei. I care about the fact that from the moment I came to this country, the one time you've called me by my name, you were begging me not to let your own protectors see you. I care about the fact that I haven't even seen or heard about you taking a bath because you're worried that someone's going to try to take the throne from you in the meantime. I care about the fact that the person I was looking forward to seeing the most in Xing, seems to have been devoured by this ancient piece of metal and jewels that I'm not even supposed to touch. I care about _you_, Mei."

She stared at him, jaw slightly lax.

"Now, please, tell me what's going on. You may think you can handle this on your own, and maybe you can. But you don't have to. So please… let me help."

He reached out to grab her hand and she looked away.

"Let me help."

She couldn't answer.

He intertwined his fingers with hers. "Please."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can."

"You don't understand Al. You just can't."

"I understand being alone Mei. I understand it a lot better than you think. I spent half of four years all alone. Four years' worth of nights alone. No matter how much Ed tried to sympathize, he couldn't understand what it was like. He didn't know how isolated I felt all the time in that armor. Even during the day, everyone else could touch, feel each other, smell each other, enjoy food together. I was still alone. Everyone who thought that it was a blessing, or an advantage… the price wasn't just not feeling. It wasn't just peace. The price was feeling alone all the time."

"But Al… I can't. It's not admitting it to you it… admitting it to myself… I can't. If I do, then I'm only what everyone says I am."

"Wonderful? Strong? Beautiful? Kind? Caring?"

"Weak. Pathetic. Incompetent."

"Amazing."

"Al…"

"Amazing." He moved so that he was sitting next to her on the bed. She looked directly away from him, but he only pulled her close so that she was being held in his tight embrace.

"Al…"

"Let me help you, Mei. Please."

"Al…"

"Please."

"I…"

"Let me help you."

"I don't want to be Empress." It was said quickly, so quickly Al almost wasn't sure he had heard it.

"… what?"

She looked away and closed her eyes, as if she was admitting a terrible secret. Which she was.

"I don't want to be Empress. I hate it. I_ hate_ it. I thought I would be able to handle it, but I can't. It's horrible. I know that I'm going to make a mistake and I'm going to let everyone down. I'm so weak and stupid. I can't do this, Al, I can't. Ling should have gotten the stone first, anything, anyone but me. I'm going to ruin this country, I'm going to ruin everything. Centuries of tradition are going to be ruined because they let a stupid little girl onto the throne." Her eyes were shining with unshed tears when she looked at him, and then glared at the crown on the table.

"I _hate_ that thing. I hate it."

"Mei…"

"Call me weak, Al. Call me pathetic. I can't take the pressure. I can't."

"But you're not weak, Mei. You're not pathetic. You're human," he said, rubbing her arms comfortingly. "You're only human."

"I'm supposed to be the Daughter of the Morning, Al. I can't be just human."

"But you are. No one person can take on all of this responsibility by themselves. Especially not wearing that thing all day. You have to lean on people."

"How can I? The Elders all hate me, my siblings would all be more than happy to stab a knife in my back, and I'm losing the support of the rich with all the moves I've been making favoring the poor."

"You can trust Ling," Al suggested. "The Yaos have many powerful friends among the clans."

"He's the one I beat for the throne the most! I can't trust him!"

"I've talked with him though. He's perfectly happy with his position in the Yao clan right now. Your decree never said who the mother of your heir from the Yao clan had to be… he married the love of his life and they're happy. He wouldn't have been able to do that if he had become Emperor and had to marry 50 wives."

She didn't respond, so Al continued. "And Prime Minister Mustang. You saved Lieutenant Hawkeye's life; he'd give you all the international support you need. They wouldn't be able to displace an Empress that's close personal friends with the leader of a very powerful nation."

"Two supporters…"

"Ling could bring in more. And many of the courtiers would want to be friends with someone who is close to powerful friends… that's you."

She nodded slowly.

"And… you have me."

"You?"

"Me," he repeated. "I'll always be here for you Mei. Whether you need me to do what I can in court or… just as a friend."

"I could use a friend…" She said after a few moments of silence. Al smiled at her and kissed the top of her head.

"I can do that. I can do that, Mei."

* * *

"Hey Ed…"

"Al! Is something wrong? Why are you calling? And at this hour. Don't you need to get some sleep for the train ride tomorrow? I don't want you to come back and be too exhausted to be of any use!"

"Actually, Brother…" Al glanced around him before leaning forward slightly so that he could see the Empress walking into the throne room, shoulders back and head held high. No one ever would have been able to guess the events of last night looking at her now. She stood as tall and proud as ever.

The image of her though, the feeling of her crying in his arms, the sound of her sobs and pleads… they were permanently burned into his memory.

"I can't come home."

"What?"

"Something came up. I… I need to stay here in Xing."

"But… you said you were ready to leave, that you wanted to come home."

"Something came up. I… I need to stay here in Xing."

"But… you said you were ready to leave, that you wanted to come home."

"I know. But… I really need to stay. The Empress needs me to do something for her and I have to do it."

"You're an Amestrian citizen, Al, the beansprout can't tell you what to do."

"I know, Ed. But I really need to do this. I'm sorry. I really am. But I have to stay."

"You'll be coming back before Winry has the baby though, won't you?" Winry was about two months pregnant, so she should be having the baby in seven months, maybe less if he was premature like Ed was afraid he would be. Al bit his lip.

"I should be."

"Good, because that's something you can't afford to miss. Don't forget to call, alright?"

"Of course."

"Alright. Bye Al."

"Goodbye Brother." Ed hung up on the other end and Al was left listening to a dial tone before hanging up the phone himself and recalling. He told the operator who he wanted to talk to and waited patiently as his call was connected.

"Hello?"

"Ling. I need you to come down to the Capitol. I need a few favors."


	9. Chapter 9

Fei was happy to see him stay at least.

He of course asked him what had changed his mind, and Al had simply answered that he realized there was more to Xing than what he had experienced and he might as well experience more. He was the Ambassador after all, he should learn everything that he could, shouldn't he? It was a good enough reason for Fei at least, who was just happy to have one of his only friends stay.

The rest of the court was far less happy about the change of plans, but Mei announced during a particularly riled session of court that he was welcome as long as he wanted to be there and abided by the rules of etiquette and the laws of the land.

She avoided looking directly at him as she said it.

Rikui's plans were already more or less set in stone, so she still left the same day that Al was scheduled to. Both he and Fei saw her to the train to wish her farewell. She would be taking the train to the edge of the Shu Province then would have to hire someone to take her, probably by cart, the rest of the way to the Chang Province.

"So what are we going to do?" Fei asked him as they walked away from the train station through the streets of Xing and back to the palace. Al raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You said there's more to Xing to experience! Let's experience it!" Fei's eyes were shinning with excitement as he talked, almost running into a couple of different people. "Your brother is going to have his baby in six months; we should go see as much as we can! We can explore it together! There are parts of Xing I've never seen. I would be honored to have you visit my home in the Bao Province. From there we could explore the South, and then perhaps go to the Chang Province!"

"Fei," Al said quickly, before he could get carried away, "I'm touched, and I would be honored to, some day. But for right now I think I need to stay here in the Capital."

"If something goes wrong with your brother's baby," he said, nodding immediately. "Of course you'll want to be in a position where you could receive word and leave quickly, I completely understand."

Al smiled at his friend. That wasn't exactly the reason… but there was no harm in letting him believe that. After all, Mei would be mortified if he said anything about what had happened to anyone. So if Fei was under the impression he was staying here for Ed's sake, then that was probably for the best.

"There is still plenty of the capital to explore! I've shown you what I know. We can learn about more together! Unless of course you don't want to…" he finished very quickly.

"No, no! I'd love to explore more of the capital with you," he said, smiling. "It would be my honor."

"There is no more honor than in helping a friend."

* * *

_28 May 1920_

If you had told Hua Pang ten years ago that he would be here, he would have laughed at you until his sides hurt or he couldn't breathe anymore. Whichever came last.

Yet here he was.

He used to think that people he was now standing among were fools to cry their injustices to an uncaring world. The act itself would get you nothing except a sore throat. Yet now he not along stood among them, but he stood in front of them.

"I fought for my Empress like every able bodied loyal citizen! I fought and killed and bleed and watch my friends die to protect her and my home! I was a prisoner of war for two long years in Gondappai and still did my duty to my country and Empress! But since returning home, I've been turned away from a job that was rightfully mine. I've starved more than I did on the battlefield!"

There were yells of outrage from the crowd. "I love my Empress and I love Xing! I've proven that a hundred times over! But it is time we the people of Xing get what we deserve! A fair chance to put food on our tables! A chance to see our children educated! A chance to make our ancestors proud instead of ashamed as the filth that's been made out of our lives!"

More shouts of agreement.

"The governor has just put into effect another law that will take the money our children need to eat from us to line his own pockets. If we do not raise our voices, our lives might as well be forfeit!"

"We will raise our voices today," one of his partners, a man named Yen, said, turning to face the crowd. "We will raise our voices only. Today is not the day for violence. There will be no lives forfeited, only improved!"

More roars from the crowd.

They began to march forward.

Hua smiled as they march, moving on the governor's house. He finally felt like he was doing something. Even if the results so far had been minimal… they had been results. He and the other protestors had managed to get an entire business to stop hiring only those from the lower classes that reduced wages. Their efforts had gotten the local trains to accept business from individual farmers instead of only noble-sponsored workers.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, however, he knew that this was not going to be one of those days.

The shots were fired before they even had time to say anything.

There was instant screaming as people began ducking for cover and hiding. He had managed to duck to the ground, probably because of his time on the front lines, but some of his friends were not so lucky. As more bullets fired into their crowd, he heard more screaming and shouted but also more of the groaning characteristic of a battlefield.

Hua began to swear under his breath, crawling along the ground until he reached a large potted plant that should hide him enough for him to get stock of what was going on.

Two minutes, and their carefully planned protest had been turned into chaos. He saw men screaming and running for their lives, trying to escape. All the while the forced, who had to be men hired by the governor, continue to fire. Hua noticed a clear path to the still open gates and bolted.

* * *

"Don't say a single word, Alphonse Elric," Ling said as soon as he caught side of Al standing there on the train platform. "I know exactly what you're going to say, and of course you can!"

Al frowned. "I don't'—"

"Of course you do," he said, smiling as he pulled a picture out of the fold of his robes and handed it to the blond.

The image was of a pudgy, black haired little baby. His eyes were shut tight so Al couldn't tell whether he got his mother or his father's eyes, but his face was most definitely his mother's.

"I have more in my trunk if you want to look at them. Lanny refused to be in a single picture, but since I couldn't bring her with me, I had to bring some part of home with me and a picture of my perfect son will have to do." Al had to laugh as he helped the Prince grab some of his luggage.

"I'll have to look at those later. It's the least I can do after what you're doing for me here."

"I was surprised to get your call. This was about one of the last thing I expected you to ask me for."

"I realize that it was probably unexpected. But… I've opened my eyes a little while I was out here and I want to help."

"You want to help the Empress, that's understandable," Ling said, nodding. He handled his own luggage, even when the driver of the car Mei had sent to come pick up Ling tried to put it in the trunk for him. "She's way in over her head."

Al stopped and stared at him. "How do you know that?"

"Even if I'm not actually in court, Al, I have my connections. I know pretty much everything going on right now, so no need to catch me up. Debtors knocking at the door, upset nobility, uprising poor, hardly able to move an inch without someone trying to blow her up. She's looking for allies. I don't know how you got involved in this Al, probably you sticking your nose where it shouldn't be— Oh, don't be embarrassed, it's what you and your brother are good at— but you came to me because I mentioned being happy with the fact that Mei became Empress instead of me. I'm willing to help. But she's going to need a lot more than just me to pull anything off."

"That's another reason I asked you. The Yaos have a lot of powerful friends, you'd be able to bring in more supporters."

They got into the car on opposite ends, leaving the seat next to the driver open. "That's a lot to ask, Alphonse. It means pulling in a lot of favors I may not be willing to pull."

"You owe me, though."

Ling smirked. "And why are you willing to use your favors from me to help her out?"

"Because she's a friend," Al said evenly. "And I help my friends. Like you're going to help me, right?"

"Look who's a politician after all," Ling said, the smirk morphing into a grin. "It's been a long time since I went to the palace. Not since the Empress's ascension."

"I hadn't realized how beautiful it is. And the food is great. You weren't lying."

"I never lie about food, Alphonse Elric. Ever."

"But you do exaggerate," Al pointed out, causing the Yao Prince to grin.

"Perhaps a little. But I wasn't this time, now was I?"

"No," he had to admit. "You weren't."

The car ride from the train station to the palace took about twice the time it should have because of the traffic. The streets had been designed with foot travel in mind, so the roads were often small and filled with people. The Imperial symbol helped cleared the congestion somewhat, but it was still close to sun down by the time they got to the palace.

The guards let them in without any trouble — Al scowled at the fact that they let Ling in without a second chance while he had had to be thoroughly searched and then inquired after but oh well — and they made their way to straight to where the Empress held her private audiences. Al hadn't spent private time with her since the morning he promised to be her friend, but he could tell from when their eyes happened to connect during court meetings that she hadn't forgotten.

"Ling…" she said hesitantly.

"Little sister— sorry, Empress," he said, bowing his head in her direction. She nodded at him, crown dipping dangerously.

"Thank you for coming. I'm sure the Ambassa— I'm sure Al's told you why you're here." He had had to tell her why Ling was here too. After the phone call, Al wasn't sure whether the Yao Prince actually was going to come. Then he got the call that morning from him telling him he was getting on the train heading there right now. She hadn't been happy about the idea until Al reminded her that she needed the help whether she wanted it to not. No one would think she was weak.

He could tell she still had her reservations, but she gestured for Ling to take a seat and took one herself. Al joined them.

"I'm willing to support you, Empress."

"I'm willing to offer you some position of power if you wish it."

"Save your positions for those that are more easily bought, Your Highness. You're going to need them."

"I am not going to buy my supporters, Yao," she snapped. "That is one thing I refuse to do. The corruption of our father's reign has to end."

"I completely agree. But to beat someone at their own game, you have to play it. You have my support because you're my favorite sister—"

"I'm your favorite sister?" she asked, looking taken aback. "But I tried to kill you and your wife. And I beat you to the Philosopher's Stone."

"Yes, but you also didn't kill me the entire time we crossed the desert back to Xing. And you were easier to converse with than Lan Fan. You were also sympathetic about Fu's death. You didn't make any rude comments and you watched over his body as if it was your own ancestor's. That meant more than you might think to Lan Fan. None of our brothers and sisters would have done that. So yes, you're my favorite sister."

"Thank you…"

"Thank _you_," Ling said pointedly. "But not all of them feel the same way I do about you. So you're going to need something a bit more potent. Figure out what their pet projects are. Figure out what they want and use that to your advantage. The Chen family would love to have some sort of potent connection to you and your family. The Po's too. The Han would kill for a chance at some of the power the Yao wield, so I'll be able to offer them something." He leaned forward, resting his chin on his interlocked fingers.

"Pick and choose your allies. If you're looking to make some sort of move to raise money for the debts, don't turn to the richest families, they're going to hang onto their money for all they're worth. The poor don't have any to give. But if you offer the middle families the chance to become more powerful in exchange for their paying off parts of the debt? They'll jump on the chance."

"And how do you suggest I make this proposal?"

"Start with figuring out what they want. That's all this is, just give and take. There's a fine balance, and right now you're on a tight rope."

"What's beneath?" she asked, rising an eyebrow.

"Crocodiles," he said with a completely straight face. "That won't hesitate to tear you apart."


	10. Chapter 10

_12 June 1920_

Al's feet slipped dangerously on the floor as he sprinted towards the double doors, nearly tripping as he rounded a corner. His heart was pounding in his chest, which heaved in and out as he struggled for air. He had gotten out of shape the past few months.

The guards looked alarm to see him there, but true to their job they wouldn't let him in even when he panted that he needed to see the Empress to give her urgent news. He had to wait for one of them to check whether she wanted to let him in or not.

Finally as he stood there with his hands interlocked behind his head trying to catch his breath (and show the guards he wasn't hiding any weapons — or at least not obviously) the door opened and he was let in.

Mei was still dressed in full robes from the court session about an hour ago, crown in place. Her dark eyes were wide with worry and apprehension. "What is it Ambassador? What's wrong?"

"It has to be told in confidence, Empress. I have strict orders to not let anyone but you hear." She glanced at the guards inside her room, then jerked her head.

"Your Majesty—"

"Just outside the door. You will be able to detect any malicious intent and stop him from there if necessary."

"But Your Majesty—"

"Leave!" The guard nodded stiffly, then they all left.

Mei immediately hurried over to him. "What is it?"

Al took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly, "I am out of shape."

She frowned. "What?"

"I'm really out of shape. I was still recovering from the Gate the last time I had trouble running that far."

"What? Al," she said impatiently, waving her hands. "If that's the problem—"

"No, there isn't a problem. Well I suppose being out of shape is a problem but..."

Her jaw dropped. "What do you mean there isn't one—?"

"Well there is," he amended quick enough to cut her off. "And it's not my shape. I mean… never mind. The problem is that you haven't been outside the Palace walls except on your Ascension parade since being named heir. You're overly stressed and you haven't even been among the people you're supposed to be ruling—"

"Supposed to be?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

"Are," he said quickly. "You are ruling. Which is why I brought this." He pulled a drab blouse that looked almost like a tunic from one of his giant pockets and held it out to her.

"… what?"

Al was convinced he had the Empress utterly confused at this point and couldn't help but smile a little as he tried for an explanation. "It's something you see the peasants wearing around Chengshi a lot. You're going to put it on and we're going to go out and see the Capital as it was meant to be seen — from the streets and not from the Palace."

She stared at him, not saying anything as her mouth opened and closed. Finally, she managed to choke out the words "Where on earth did you get an idea like this? Why would you think I'd go along with it? Why did you lie to me and my guards? Alphonse!"

"Mei," he said firmly, reaching out and grabbing her arms so he could look directly into her arms. "I told you I was going to be your friend, but we haven't even had a single one-on-one conversation since. So I'm being a friend and staging an intervention. No one will notice you if you're not in your Empress attire. Everyone in the Palace probably saw me running in here. They'll think you're involved in a priority meeting with me about Amestris. Your guards already have order to leave us along in here. Two hours."

"Two hours?"

"That's it. Two hours in the city. I can show you my favorite places and we can get something to eat. Then we'll come back and I leave to call Fuhrer Mustang to keep up pretenses. No one will have to know."

She stared at him as if she had never seen a creature quite like him in her entire life. "You're really serious about his aren't you?"

"I am."

Mei bit her lip, then called for her main guard. Al made a sound of complaint, but she silenced him with a look.

"The Ambassador and I have urged business to attend to," she said in a whisper. "No one can know we are gone. Keep up all pretenses that we are still here. We will be unaccompanied. I can take care of myself and no one will even know we're gone."

Lien Ma grit his teeth and glared at Al (who had marshalled his face into a worried and anxious expression) but nodded.

"Good."

Mei took the tunic from Al's hand, then smiled, eyes shining differently than Al thought he had ever seen them. They looked very nice when she smiled like that.

"Look away while I'm changing."

Al grinned.

* * *

It was tricky getting out of her room and then the throne room, but Al managed to get his hands on some cheap dye that turned his hair an odd dark color. If anyone looked closely at him they would be able to tell from his gold eyes that he wasn't anything near Xingese, but for sneaking out of the Palace it did well enough.

As soon as they actually reached fresh air, Al took a deep breath and grinned widely at Mei, who looked uncomfortable in the abrasive clothing he had managed to sneak in for her.

"Is it the wrong size? I could only guess—"

"It's not that, Al," she said quickly. "It's just… I haven't worn anything like this is in four or five years. It's… uncomfortable to go back to. My family was poor for so long… I don't like having to go back." Al's brow creased, but he nodded.

"I can only imagine what it'd be like to have to go back to that armor. I don't know what I might do," he eventually settled on answering.

"How has it been, really? We've never gotten the chance to talk about it."

Al smiled, a real genuine smile as he started walking towards the bustling city outside the Palace. She fell into step beside him. "It's been amazing Mei. I don't even know how to describe it. Just… everything. I love it all. Being able to breath, eat, feel, even get sick! The first time I got a cold, I nearly cried every time I blew my nose because I had actually gotten sick."

Mei smiled at him, tucking her arms around her as she walked. "Well I'm glad at least someone in the world can be happy to be sick."

"Well, I'm not so happy about it anymore, but it was fun at the time. I still love the rain though. When the monsoons came, Rikui and Fei had to keep track of me all the time to make sure I wasn't spending all of my time out in it."

"You were trying to go out into that?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, which only cause Al's smile to widen. It was about a ten minute walk from the palace to the city itself, so the nobility could be close enough to the city to get what they needed without actually having to interact with the peons of society. If there was anyone coming the other direction they might think it was odd that these two apparent peasants were walking away from the Palace at all. Luckily, very few people traveled that direction.

"Yes, I was actually. You're not the first person to call my crazy for it."

"Not just crazy, lucky for having survived it. I'm amazed you didn't get sick, or got hit on the head by a tree branch or something. The monsoons were bad this year."

"Well I couldn't avoid getting sick completely, I got sick a couple of times actually. You don't remember? I couldn't even drag myself out of bed, let alone go to court."

He step faltered for a bit before she continued walking. When he voice next spoke it was quieter. "No… I don't remember."

"It's alright. I mean, you were pretty busy with the… uh… I think it was treaties with Xiongnu."

"Right. I was pretty preoccupied with that."

There was silence as they continued down the road before Al decided to break it. "But no more politics. Ling talked enough politics to make me dizzy. For the next two hours—"

"Hour and a half," she corrected. "We've easily spent half an hour trying to get out of the palace."

"Fine. For the next hour and a half, you are not the Empress and I am not an Ambassador. We're just two people who are going to go out and enjoy the city."

"And you're some… half Xingese, half Xerxian are you?"

"Precisely. I actually found a very interesting account in the library a few months ago about the Western Sage. Apparently the First Emperor offered him one of his daughters for a wife?"

Mei shrugged. "I wouldn't be able to tell you, but that doesn't surprise me. Back then, there was no chance for a daughter of the Emperor to become Empress. The best they could do was get married off. A powerful alchemist like the Western Sage, who taught our people what would eventually become alkahestry? I'd probably offer him one of my daughters for wife too."

"You wouldn't."

"I don't know Alphonse, just think how close you came to have Xingese great-great-great-great-great-great- great-great-great-great-great—"

"Mei!"

"—great-great-great-great-great nieces and nephews!" She was smiling now in her teasing, and Al didn't think he had seen anything that made him happier the entire time he had been in Xing.

"Please don't say something like that," he said, even though he wanted to tell her how beautiful he thought her smile was. "The thought's just far too weird…"

"I have forty-two siblings, Alphonse."

"Yes, but none of them have been dead for hundreds of years. I mean, really, he lived for four hundred years. Ed and I don't know if we do have any relatives. That's not exactly a conversation that came up in the two or three hours I actually knew the man."

"Well did the records say that he accepted the wife?"

"No, it says he turned the Emperor down. Thanked him for her generosity, but turned him down. But that's not to say there weren't other women over the years. There are no records of other marriages, but then again, there aren't any official records of his and Mom's marriage. I'd like to believe that Mom was the only one that he loved enough to want to have children with – Granny told us that he was terrified when he found out that he was going to be a father. So I can't imagine him exactly going around having kids lightly. Then again… I don't know."

"I didn't know your father very well," Mei said, starting off slowly. "And I spent a lot of that time crying over your dead body – well, armor. But the way he was willing to sacrifice everything to help you and Ed… I can only imagine that you two meant the world to him. And I don't think that would come from a man who's had other relationships over the years.

Al smiled at her, which she returned. Their hands brushed, and Al acted on the sudden impulse to grab her hand.

"That's not a royal no-no, is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow when she looked sharply at him. She visibly flushed before pushing back her shoulders.

"But you forget Alphonse. I'm not the Empress. I'm just Mei Chang." Then she smiled at him and ran forwards the last few yards separating them from the city, dragging him behind her.

* * *

"And where is your enthusiastic friend today, Mr. Al?"

"I told you, Song," Al remarked with a smile. "It's not Mr. Al, it's just Al. I come her so often, I might as well be keeping you in business."

Song chuckled, dropping the dumpling in a paper bag and handing them over as Al counted his money.

"And I greatly appreciate it, Mr. Al."

Al shook his head, then handed over the money. "Fei couldn't come with me today. So I'm showing Mei around Chengshi." Mei was standing a distance away from Al, who was buying them lunch. She was standing at the edge of the street, watching people bustle by with a fascinated look in her eye.

"Ah, yes, the young beauty. She is quite something. Is she another noble?"

"I'm afraid not. I don't only associate with the rich people on the hill, Song. I'm talking to you aren't you?"

"You're also a crazy foreigner." Al laughed along with the vendor, who threw his whole head back when he laughed and almost shook the cart with the force of the laugh.

"Too true, my friend. Too true. No, Mei's just new to Chengshi."

"She holds herself like one. If you two aren't careful, you're going to get yourself mugged."

"Thanks for the tip, Song, but we might have more than a few surprises for someone who tries to mug us. Thanks for everything, really. And stop calling me Mister."

"Of course, Mr. Al." He waved the tongs in lieu of using an actual hand as Al shook his head and made his way over to where Mei stood, offering her the bag.

"I've sampled a lot of different food here in the city and got food poisoning a couple of time, but I've never tasted anything better than Song's dumplings."

She reached her hand into to grab one of the dumplings, then stared at it for a few moments.

"Do you want me to check it for poison first? Because if you insist, I would be perfectly happy to check all of them for poison before you eat. Wouldn't want you to get hurt after all."

"Oh really?"

"In fact, I think he might have even been dastardly enough to poison only one side of the dumpling, so I'll have to check both sides on all of them."

"Right," she said dryly. "Thank you for the offer, but I think I'll take my chances."

"Taking your responsibility to the throne lightly are we?" he asked with a grin, before it quickly faded. "Wait, no, I shouldn't have said that. Not something to joke about, I'm sorry. I didn't mean in any way—"

"It's fine Al. Really. You were just joking."

All the same, he could tell something about his words had affected her. She had flinched when he said it, then avoided looking him in the eye afterwards – though she did start nibbling on the dumpling.

"Really… I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

He sighed, then looked to the side, watching the flow of traffic. People were hurrying up and down the streets, buying food and entering shops. Yelling and haggling and discussing and even in some cases slapping each other. Al had to hold back a grin.

"Let me make it up to you," he said suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Let me make it up to you. I'll give you a ride all the way back to the Palace."

"What?" she asked, staring directly at him. The attention made a slight knot in his chest loosen. He hadn't offended her that much if she was going to look straight at him that quickly. Then again he had just made a rather audacious suggestion.

"I'll give you a ride on my back all the way back to the Palace. You won't even have to walk."

"If this is something about my status, I'm perfectly able to walk—"

"No, it's because I'm a friend. And in case you never learned that lesson in all of your training growing up, friends do weird things to cheer each other up. So, I'm volunteering to be your stallion on the way back to the palace."

"When you put it like that, it's hard to refuse."

Al grinned, then handed her the bag of food. "Save half of them for me." He crouched down, getting his arms ready to catch her legs when she jumped.

"You're crazy, Amestrian."

"And I am proud of it, Chang."

He felt her hands on his shoulders, then her body tensing. A few seconds later, he felt the impact of her landing on his hips and he caught her bottom of her thighs with her hands as she wrapped her arms around her necks.

"Well what are you waiting for," she asked, voice very close to his ear. "Giddiup, horsey."

Her laugh echoed in the street as he let out his best impression of a horse's whiney.

For having been so out of breath running down the halls of the palace, he managed to keep up a very steady jog on their way up to the palace. He had to put her down and reclaim his portion of the dumpling as they got close enough to the palace to be seen, though. Sneaking back in was much trickier than getting out, but after enough time they managed to get in (Mei made the dry comment that she wasn't sure how safe she should actually feel anymore considering this) and back to her room in enough time that Lein Ma wasn't even freaking out by the time Al left the room babbling about how "Yes, Empress this seems like a perfectly good solution, I'm so happy we could work this out."

Luckily they were both good enough actors that neither of them cracked to show the smiles they were holding back.

Al couldn't quite hold it back as he was giving a report to Fuhrer Mustang over the phone though. It was a good thing not too many of the Xingese could speak Amestrian, or they might think it was odd all Al and Mustang talked about after such an urgent meeting was how Ed was handling getting ready to be a father.


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter was like pulling teeth -_- But it happened! And that's what's important!**

* * *

"The Empress requests your presence."

Al couldn't help but grin at the man who had brought the message, but he nodded. "Yes, of course, I'll see her right away."

The messenger nodded, then bowed and ducked out of the room. Al hurried to the mirror in the bathroom attached to his room, ran his fingers through his hair a few times to make sure that it looked good enough, straightened his tie, then hurried out of the room so quickly he left the door ajar.

The trip was a quick one when he was excited to make it. It had been so nice to be back in Amestris, especially when he saw one of his dreams realized, but it was also nice to be back in Xing. He hadn't anticipated how much he would miss it.

The guards did their usual shake down before letting him in, but then he entered the double doors to see Mei sitting at the table in the middle of the room. She looked up when he entered and smiled.

"Ambassador."

"Empress," he said, bowing. The doors closed behind him and he straightened, grinning. "It's good to be back."

Her smile widened. "Come here, I want to hear all about it. How's the baby?"

Al obliged the Empress's wishes, crossing behind the table so that they were sitting next to each other. She quickly poured him a cup of tea, then pushed it towards him.

"It's a boy. They've named him Benjamin."

"That's wonderful!"

"Ed's practically bursting with pride. He wanted to send a picture to Mustang with the caption 'Look what I transmuted', but Winry shot the idea down fast than Hawkeye with a rifle. He's really a cut little boy though, even though he looked a lot like Ed. Just the barest bit of blond hair, gold eyes like me and Ed. They weren't even blue when he was born, they were already gold."

"Does he make grumpy expressions?"

"All the time," Al responded, laughing. "Winry said that she hoped it wasn't supposed to be a warning."

"I wish he the best of luck dealing with his children."

"She's going to need it!"

There was a brief silence as they stared at each other, still just grinning. She hadn't changed much in the short time Al had been in Amestris with Ed and Winry. But she had changed in the past few months since he and Ling had begun to help her out.

Ling had been a practical godsend. The moment he sent his mind towards helping her gain power, there was nothing to stop him. Al had never realized just how politically savvy he had had to learn growing up to become Emperor, but he was more than just adept at manipulating the courtiers, he was frightening. Al was terribly glad that Ling had no aspirations for the throne himself, because he probably had the ability to take it.

After more or less announcing his direct allegiance to the Empress, Ling immediately began to shift his allies to their side. The Yaos were a powerful family, even if they hadn't had an Emperor in several generations. The recent industry boom in their providence had only strengthened their power. Several clans had supporting her more widely just because of that public alliance.

Some of the support had to be more subtle. A few promises of road building, arranging for railroads to pass through certain clans, at one point gaining allegiance was as simple as managing to find the Clan Leader's second son an apprenticeship as an alkahestrist.

At Al's suggestion, she began negotiations with Fuhrer Mustang for Amestrian businessmen to invest in the rather poor railroad system in Xing and other such infrastructure. The current contracts estimated a 50% increase in railroads nationwide, and there were even more being negotiated. The boom in infrastructure would provide thousands of Xingese workers with more jobs as well as make it so that farmers in the south would be able to transport their goods north for nearly half the price that it would have cost before. Even with the necessary taxes to keep them running as well as beginning to pay off the debts, they would come out ahead.

It had wrought a physical change in Mei. Her shoulders looked more relax and she was able to sit taller. Her face seemed more filled out, and the circles around her eyes weren't so dark. She was still wearing her crown all the time, but now it seemed less like it was trying to squish her all the time.

"And how was it being back in Amestris?"

"It was good," Al responded easily. "It was really nice to be home. But I didn't realize I would miss Xing this much when I was home. It was great to be there, and I loved spending time with Ed and Winry and my new nephew… but I'm glad to be back here with you."

She smiled at him.

Of course Al liked to think that he had some part in her transformation as well. He had stayed by his promise the past few months too. Even if they couldn't actually escape the palace and run off into the city more than once or twice, he refused to give up when she tried to rebuff him, until she finally began to accept his friendship and odd way to try to cheer her up. These sorts of meetings where he would sit next to her despite the fact he should be separated by a full table's length, became a common occurrence.

"I'm glad you're back, too."

"How have things been while I was gone?"

"They've gone well enough. Nothing monumental enough for you to hear of, obviously. The ground was broken for a railroad between here and the Wong Providence."

"That's great!"

She smiled and nodded.

Then someone knocked on the door and both of their attentions turned. "Your Majesty," someone said, poking their head in. "There are representatives from the Chen Clan here to see you in the Grand Reception Hall."

There wasn't any trace of a smile left on her face as she nodded and Al scooted further away from her. "Very well, thank you."

The man nodded, then ducked out of the room. Mei sighed, then stood up, straightening the front of her robes.

"I suppose I need to go, then, shouldn't I?"

"Duty calls," Al responded, shrugging. Unfortunately, this was a regular interruption of their time together too. "It was good to talk to you, Mei. We should try to do something together soon."

"Do you have something naughty like sneaking into the city again in mind Alphonse Elric?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "No, I was thinking something more like I haven't had good Xingese food in nearly three months, and making sure the palace cooks are up to scratch."

"I see," she said with a sly look in her eyes. "Well, it was nice talking. Welcome back to Xing, Al. I'm glad to have you here." She gave him one more smile, before adjusting her crown slightly and marching out of the room, him following behind.

* * *

Al was just adjusting his tunic to make sure it was laying right when the knock on his door came. Al frowned.

He was staying in the same room he had been in before, a large one with plenty of space. A bit too much space for just him to use, really, but he did his best to make it feel lived in. The bed was much larger than his old one back in Resembool, but at least it wasn't so big he felt like he was drowning in it. He didn't know how Mei managed to get any rest in that bed of hers. If he had to sleep there, he'd feel like he was about to get swallowed all the time.

The room also came with a handsome desk, a large closet already filled to bursting with plenty of ceremonial and traditional Xingese outfits next to his carefully cared for Amestrian suits, and a likewise bursting bookshelf. There weren't any alkahestry texts, those were only to be found in the library (and on his desk), but there were some very interesting cultural stories and other such texts he had had a fun time perusing.

There was a bathroom attached to the room, though, which Al was very grateful for. Before actually arriving at the Capital, Ling had taken an unnatural glee in telling him all sorts of horror stories about public baths. Other than that, though, there was very little in the room. His suitcase was open on the ground near his bed, not having had enough time to truly unpack.

Which was part of the reason he was so surprised that someone was knocking on his door. He hadn't even been back a full day yet. He knew for a fact that Fei was still in the Bao providence and wouldn't be back in the Capital for about another week. He was going to meet Mei now, so she wouldn't be sending a messenger to him. Unless this was something about her canceling? That was possible, if something had come up.

He crossed the room and opened the door, frowning slightly.

Then the expression melted away, replaced by surprise.

"Rikui!"

She grinned at him, then threw her arms around the stunned Amestrian. "Hi, Al!"

Al hugged her back, then pulled away to stare at her. "What… I didn't know you were going to be here."

"I didn't know I was going to be here either. It was a sudden decision. I only got here a few hours ago and learned you were here. I wanted to surprise you."

"Well it worked!" Al said, grinning himself now. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since you left, it's been what? Almost a year?"

"A little less than that," she said, nodding. "But nearly."

"Wow… you look… good! You cut your hair!" She had. Where before her hair used to hand somewhere around her lower back when held back in a ponytail, now it hung close around her ears.

"Yeah, it's just so much easier to take care of."

"Wow… it looks good."

She blushed and tucked some of the short locks behind an ear. "Thank you, Al."

"No problem. So what… what are you doing here? Why did you come back? How are things in the Chang clan? Fei was planning this whole pan-Xing trip where we'd stop by there, pick you up, and head around the rest of the country."

"That would be… a very interesting trip. Is he still thinking about it?"

Al hesitated before responding to that statement. "Well… I couldn't really say. Of course I would love to, it'd be a great opportunity to see more of Xing and I think he was even thinking of traveling around the East a bit more too… but right now I really need to be staying here in the capital. Fingers on the pulse, as it were."

She nodded. "With your job as an Ambassador, yeah that would be important. Especially with the riots."

Al paused. "… what riots?"

Rikui blinked, cocking her head slightly to the side. "What do you mean 'what riots'? You don't know?"

"No, what…?"

"Oh it's not that big of a deal," she said quickly. "I guess it might not have reached the Capital, or maybe it's not perceived as much of a threat. It's just been some riots in some of the South Eastern clans. Most of their revenue comes from the farms in the area, and the monsoons have just been so bad the past two years that's it's caused a lot of unrest. And conditions have never really been great down there in the best of times. Really if you ask me, it's about time that people started speaking out, it's just that now isn't that time."

"I hadn't heard anything about that, no."

"Oh, well, it's probably just not that much of a big deal. You hear a lot about it in the Chang clan. If it wasn't for Mei being Empress and the prosperity we've felt because of that, we'd probably be suffering right along with them. Which doesn't tend to make people very happy with us, of course, but… in a couple of decades, it'll be their turn to scramble for power." Rikui seemed to look into the distance. "Cause that's the way it works."

"Well, I mean, everyone's got a chance for that power, right?"

"Right. Of course."

She smiled tightly again, but then shook her head. "But enough of politics. What's been going on? How have your studies been going? How are Ed and Winry?"

"Did you not hear? They had the baby!"

"They did!"

"Yes, a little boy. They named him Benjamin."

"That's amazing! You have to tell me everything about it. I don't know about you, but I've been dying without Song's dumplings. What do you say?"

He grinned at her before nodding. "Sure! You know I could always go for those." He ducked inside his room once again to grab a jacket, then joined her outside of his room, closing the door behind him.

"Let's go!"

* * *

Mei waited almost an entire hour for Al to show up in the kitchens. She wanted to talk more about Ed and Winry's baby, what it was like in Amestris. And she wanted to get his opinions on a few issues that had come up while he was gone. Nothing terribly serious, and she was hoping that some of the arrangements she'd made between the other clans and Amestris would be able to help the tensions, but he'd always find something to say to make her feel better about whatever problem she was dealing with. Even if he didn't have a solution, he'd be able to turn it into a joke or make her smile somehow else.

But he never showed up.

Eventually when one of the cooks asked her if she was he to sample the cuisine for the Chen Clan representatives and Xiao Mei whined in her ear, she shook her head, thanked them for putting up with her, and left.

Knowing Al, he had probably gotten some sort of alkahestry question, looked up the answer in some book and then got distracted reading the rest of it. He could be so easily distracted like that. It was actually rather adorable. One time he had simply demanded to be let in her room, sat down and started reading while she worked on some paperwork that had to be signed for an agreement between a couple of clans.

He hadn't said a single word the entire time he was in there, just got totally lost in his book. But even having him there in the room with her made her more relaxed, even if the occasional scratches of his pen as he took notes was a tad distracting. Or… well she couldn't deny that she took more than just a couple of sideways glances at him as she was working just to admire the way his hair fell in his face or that absent minded look on his face as he rolled the pen between his fingers.

That was entirely beside the point though. He was a good friend, one of the best she had ever had beside Xiao Mei. Maybe… probably more than maybe, he _was_ the best other than her faithful panda.

There was no doubt in her mind that he had just gotten lost in a book or some other random project. She would probably find him staring at a book in his room, or maybe in the library. He could be remembering their appointment and rushing to the kitchens right now worrying about having offended her or hurt her feelings.

Mei was smiling a little at the thought as she walked down the halls, doing her best to appear to glide down them as one would expect the Empress should. Her mother used to try to make her practice walking like that in case she did become Empress, but Mei had always ignored her.

She'd check up on his room. If he suddenly remembered their appointment, she'd probably meet him as he ran towards the kitchens. And if he was in the library, he'd have to pass by here anyways.

Al didn't come running by her as she walked down the hall, though. In fact he wasn't even in his room. So she was just about to try the library, since she did have another hour or so before she was needed in any meetings, when she heard his voice coming.

So he had been in the library, and was probably now yelling at himself for having forgotten—

"Every single time I go there, I'm impressed again by how good his dumplings are."

"I've missed them a lot."

That wasn't Al's voice.

"I think he likes you, he never seems to serve me dumplings quite as good when I come with Fei."

"Well, can you exactly blame him?"

Al laughed, and by now Mei could recognize the sound of her cousin's voice. She had completely forgotten the frantic message that her Uncle had sent her saying that he was sending Rikui along to spend time in the Capital. Something about him hoping the influence would so her some good.

The pieces came together. They must have run into each other somehow and decided to reunite, including going down to the city and getting dumplings. Even though Mei knew that Al went there a lot and with lots of different people, after all the vendor knew his name, the thought of him going there with Rikui made her stomach turn uncomfortably. But during the course of their conversing and travels… he simply must have forgotten about his plans with her.

So she had been right. Only that Al had been distracted by something other than a book.

Xiao Mei chittered quietly, having recognized Rikui's voice now herself. Mei nodded, then slipped around the corner out of sight. No need to interrupt their reuniting.

It wasn't like they had been official plans or anything anyways.


	12. Chapter 12

For as much as Al loved Xing, and really he did, one of the things he had to admit to hating about being here the most what having to receive most news from his brother and sister-in-law by mail. Even if it was a handwritten note that he could stare at and even slightly smell Rushvalley on it, he couldn't help but feel it was impersonal. He couldn't laugh and hug them or roll his eyes at them or even exasperatedly walk out of the room when they started making eyes at each other.

Or when they were expecting another child nine months after their first one was born.

Had the news been delivered to him in person, he would have gaped at the two of them and asked them how that even _happened_, to which Winry probably would have blushed and Ed would have grinned. He hadn't even been in Xing a week and they were already telling him she was pregnant, which meant that she had to have pregnant while he was there with them. Well she had been acting off color and sick, but he thought that was an effect of having delivered a baby… not being pregnant with another one.

He couldn't point this out to them in person though. The best he could do was hurry down to the Empress's room, letter in hand. He wanted to tell both her and Rikui, but Mei first. He knew where she was right now, but she was more likely to be in a different place sooner than Rikui. And of the two Chang women, she was the one that actually knew Ed and would probably laugh harder at it.

He went through the standard search and wait while the guards asked Mei if he could come in, and then he was admitted. He was surprised upon entering to find both of said Chang women sitting there stiffly. Neither one of them was looking at the other, instead staring off in different directions as if they couldn't stand the sight of the other.

The smile faded off his face.

"Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, Ambassador," Mei said in a clipped manner, moving her untouched teacup father away from her. "What did you need?"

"I…" His reasons for coming in seemed to have left his mind. Rikui glared at Mei as she spoke, then fixed her dark eyes firmly on him. She had a length of cloth tied in her hair like a headband, only it was long enough to fall over either shoulder.

"Letter. There was a letter from Ed. I though you would want to know what was in it. Both of you, actually," he said, gesturing with the hand with the letter in it at her.

"And what did he say?" Mei asked, her voice sounding like it was defrosting a bit. There was still a hard edge to it though.

"Um, is this a bad time? I can come back later…"

"No, everything is fine," Rikui said in a sarcastic tone, shooting another glare at Mei, to which she responded in kind. She dropped the tone when she turned back to Al though. "I do want to know what he had to say though. What is it?"

"Oh well…" Al managed to summon a small smile to his face. "Well… Winry's pregnant."

Both of them stopped and frowned. "But… she just had Benny."

"I know. She's already pregnant again. And she's already far enough along that they're starting to see it, which means she must have gotten pregnant right after Benny was born."

"Excited, were they?" Rikiu asked, raising an eyebrow. Al turned a bit pink, but grinned.

"I'm going to be an Uncle again. Already."

"That will be difficult for them, won't it? Especially for Winry. Especially with Benny still so young."

"You'll have to go back," Rikui said in response to Mei's comment. "Help them out. Maybe you could finally show me your home, Al."

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Mei said sharply, causing Rikui to turn around sharply and glare again. "Your father made it very clear to me when he sent you here—"

"That I'm an adult and I don't need to be told what to do? Especially by my second cousin who's _younger_ than me?"

"I am the Empress!"

"Exactly my problem! You're so caught up in your own self-importance you don't even stop to realize that you're _killing_ this country. All of you fat politicians are! What do you think the riots are about?!"

"Rikui!"

"I know exactly why father sent me here, he sent me here hoping that your importance might beat me into submission, but I see what you really are!"

"And what's that?"

"A…" she faltered, words seeming to fail her. Then something flickered in her eyes. "You're a failure, that's what you are! You're a pathetic excuse for a ruler, a little puppet and Xing deserves better! You're going to ruin us all, just like everyone else. You got the throne because you stole a Philosopher's Stone from Amestris, not because you have any qualifications to be spoken of! You couldn't even get a Philosopher's Stone on your own! And— And the very first thing you do is get us involved in a war that kills millions of us! And then when we're about to win, you give into international pressure and surrender! Now we have more debt than we know what to do with and it's all YOUR FAULT!"

Al watched, open mouthed in horror at the scene before him. Mei was sitting frozen in her seat, white as a sheet as Rikui, who had shot to her feet, screamed.

There was an echoing silence that followed her outburst.

Rikui stood there, breathing heavily, then she spun around on her heel and stormed out of the room.

Al stared after her, but the guards seemed likewise shocked because they let her out of the room. It seemed no one had ever had quite an outburst like that before. The closest Al could ever remember to anything like that was when Mei had said almost the same things about herself.

"Empress…"

He turned to look at her and then immediately dropped the letter in his hand, rushing to her side and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Mei, it's alright."

She looked like she was hyperventilating. "Mei, Mei!"

"She's right, she's completely right—"

"Leave," he ordered, turning to the guards who stood in the doorway. For once they didn't try to protest, instead just hurried out. Then he pulled her into a tight hug and she held onto him, still breathing rapidly and rambling about how she was entirely correct.

"Mei, she is not right, you're fine, you're not pathetic, you're not a failure. Remember everything good that you've been doing? How many people you've been helping? You are _not_ weak!"

"Just keep breathing," he muttered, rubbing her back. "You are not a failure, you are not weak."

"Al—"

"Mei Chang, you are strong, and beautiful, and independent, and a good, kind, caring ruler! You are not going to let something she said because she was angry upset you like this."

"But she's right, I'm killing Xing—"

"Absolutely not." She buried her face in his shoulder, still shuddering. "I don't want to hear it."

It still took several more moments for her breathing to cold and her to detangle herself from Al's arms.

"I'm going to go speak with her, alright? She's was just mad and said what she knew would make you unhinge."

Mei nodded, but she didn't stop until Al put his hand under her chin. She looked deeply tired, like she hadn't been sleeping for the past couple of days. He hadn't seen the circles around her eyes look that bad in months.

"Mei… what's wrong? It's not like you to shout at her like that. You're usually better at controlling your temper."

She looked away from him and Al had to fight the urge to turn her chin so that she had to look at him.

"I just haven't been sleeping very well, Al."

"Mei, what's wrong? What did she do?"

She swallowed, then shook her head.

"What?"

"It's stupid."

"You're not stupid."

"I didn't say I was stupid, I said it's stupid." Instead of looking to the side now, she looked down. "She was taking you away from me?"

He blinked.

"What?"

"She was taking you away from me. There. I told you it was stupid."

"What are you talking about? She wasn't taking me away from you…" Her comment forced him to stop and think though. Well he had started spending a lot of time with her and not as much with Mei. And there had been that incident where he had gone to the market with her instead of meeting Mei in the kitchen, but he had apologized profusely over that once he realized hadn't he?

"Mei, I'm sorry… I didn't even realize…"

"I told you, it's stupid. You don't belong to me or anything and I kept trying to tell myself that."

"That's not an excuse for me to ignore you though," he said firmly. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"She's your friend too…"

"Well, yes. Yes she is. But I care about you too, Mei. If you ever feel that way again… please, come talk to me. I want to know."

She nodded.

"Mei… I mean that."

"… I know," she eventually whispered, then threw herself against his chest. "I'm sorry, Alphonse."

"You're perfectly alright." He said firmly. "She was basically hurling your worst fears right in your face, I'm not surprised you reacted like this. I'd be surprised if you didn't react like this. In fact, I think it's very brave of you to not have said something worse to her."

"I was too shocked to."

"Well there are plenty of people who would have done worse. You're a bigger person."

"How did I end up with someone as amazing as you in my life, Al?" she whispered into his shoulder. Al just smiled and rubbed her back comfortingly.

"Because you're an amazing person, Mei."

She smiled, then pulled away. "Thank you."

"Of course."

Al turned around and grabbed the tea cup she hadn't been drinking from earlier and pushed it into her hands. It was still warm, thankfully enough, something that she attached to as she held it.

"Thank you."

He sat there watching her as she drank the tea, eventually pouring himself a cup and then refilling her cup. They sat there for probably twenty minutes, not saying anything until Mei finally cleared her throat.

"So… Ed and Winry are having another baby."

"Yeah. Poor Winry."

"Poor Ed. He's going to have to take care of a baby and a pregnant wife," Mei said in a voice that only wavered slightly. Al smiled.

"Maybe I won't go back to help after all."

"You wouldn't be that mean."

"Well… no. But I think this time I'm not going to come back until the baby's born. I love Winry like a sister, but dealing with her pregnant, well… I'll leave that to Ed. That way he's the only one she can threaten with a wrench and nearly kill."

Mei laughed, taking another sip of tea.

There was a knock on the door. Al glanced at Mei, and she glanced back at him, no clear answer in her eyes.

"Come in," he answered for her.

Both of them were surprised at their visitor.

"… I'm sorry."

He glanced at Mei again, but this time she didn't look back at him. Just stared at Rikui who was standing there with her head bowed.

"I let my temper got the better of me and I said things I didn't mean. A thousand apologies to you, Your Highness."

"You don't have to be so formal, Rikui," Mei eventually said. She was staring down into her tea cup. "I understand."

"You're not killing Xing. If it is dying, it's been happening for a long time. I was just mad. And I went straight to my room and sat there until I realized that. You're trying your hardest to help people."

"Thank you."

The two women stood there, still rather stiff.

"We were just talking about Ed and the baby," Al eventually said, pouring some tea into the cup she had been drinking from before. "What do you think? Should I leave him to suffer with a pregnant Winry, or take pity on him?"

"… Pity," she said eventually after Mei nodded, sitting down and taking the cup. "You wouldn't want to be too harsh on your brother after all."

"Yes, but we're talking about Winry who's prone to knocking people's souls out of them with her wrench on a good day. When she's angry and hormonal?"

"And stressed because of a baby," Mei pointed out.

"And stressed because of a baby," he agreed. "I don't know. And besides, it's their fault anyways, why should I suffer?"

"You're the one that was so excited about being an Uncle," Rikui said, taking a sip.

"That's a good point, Al."

"Yes, but I didn't think I'd be an Uncle twice within a year when I only have one brother!"

* * *

**This chapter started out fluffy, it did, I swear. And I had every intention of making it fluffy. Then my best friend and I got into a debate/argument bordering on fight and... this happened... Whooooo. Uh... please review! Ever had that happen? You sit down the full intentions to write/draw/create one thing, and then something happens and all of a sudden your subconscious hijacks your brain and you're doing something else? I didn't think "I'm channeling my negative emotions into my writing cause I was just fighting so I'm going to have the characters fight"... I was just writing and all of a sudden they were yelling at each other... **


	13. Chapter 13

It almost made Al sad that he couldn't see the stars very well out here.

It wasn't an issue with Xing, not at all, it was just a matter of being in the Capital. As a virtue of being situated on a mountain, the palace avoiding most of the air pollution of the city below. But the light pollution alone made the stars a far rarer sight than he enjoyed.

In Central you'd be lucky to see the brightest star even on a perfectly clear night, but on a clear night in Resembool you could see just about every star in the sky for miles in every direction. You could stare at the night sky and come up with shakes and patterns like you were cloud gazing.

"There it is."

Al snapped out of his musing trying to identify the star he was supposed to be looking at. "Which one?"

"That one." She pointed again, and he tried to follow her line of sight. "It's right above the two that look like they're about to high five each other."

"Okay," he responded, still not quite sure if he was looking at the right one.

"I used to stare at that star every single night while I was crossing the desert."

"Really?" he asked, turning his head so he could better see the Empress. They were lying side by side, staring up at the night sky. She had taken her crown off for the moment, lying on the blanket in between them. She was wearing an outfit reminiscent of her time in Amestris, on it was different shades of blue instead of pink.

"Every single night when I laid down to fall asleep I wasn't sure if I was going to wake up again. There were sandstorms, and wild creatures… if I slept at night there was the chance that I would freeze to death, but it was always too hot to sleep during the day and there was never any shade… I usually ended up falling asleep half way through the night and sleeping until a bit before midday. And that star was always at its apex at that time of night. So it would be the last thing I would see before I fell asleep – and some nights I thought it was the last thing I was ever going to see."

"And look at you now," he said, smiling at her. She turned her head so their eyes met and smiled.

"I was certainly hoping I'd end up here when I was making that journey."

"Lying outside the palace staring up at the stars with a handsome man next to you?" Mei laughed, and Al couldn't quite squish the triumphant smile on his face. He felt like every smile and laugh he managed to get out of her was a small victory. The more he could get, the better.

"Exactly."

"I'm glad to know you think I'm handsome, Empress."

"Well I'd have to be blind to not think so."

"Thank you," he responded with another grin. She didn't say anything in response, but all the same he didn't tear his eyes away from hers. They really were beautiful. She had the largest eyes he had ever seen, and they were so dark. He used to think they made her look even more like a little girl, but she certainly did not look like a little girl now.

"What about you?" she eventually asked in the silence.

"What about me?" he asked, caught off guard by the question.

"Do you have any deep emotional stories about staring at stars?"

Al chuckled, finally turning his head so he was looking at the stars again instead of her. "Well, yeah, actually. I used to spend a lot of time watching them back when I was in the armor. Sometimes I would read or work on research, but I liked to be with Ed while he slept and didn't usually like to have any lights on while he was trying to sleep. So I would stare at the stars through the window. I used to make up stories about them."

"Like what?" she asked, and he felt her fingers brush up against his, making his heart leap in his chest.

"Oh… like… take that star you used to stare at all the time. It has the two next to it that are really close. Those two are a married couple, they were happily married for many years before they were able to have a child. And when that child grew up, it told its parents that it hated them and never wanted to see them again. And the parents were heartbroken for many years. But then something happened to the parents, they started to get old and die, and then the child did everything in its ability to get back to its parents because even when we're mad at the people we love and we say things we don't mean… we love them."

There was a bit of silence after he finished during which Mei didn't say anything. Then finally: "That was beautiful, Al."

He shrugged. "I've had lots of practice. It's been a long time, though, I'm kind of rusty."

"If that was you rusty, Al, I'd love to hear some of your stories when you've been practicing."

He chuckled again, and this time it was his fingers that brushed up against hers. She didn't seem to make any response to the brief contact that when he glanced at her, panicked that she would be upset.

"Well… I do my best. That's all you can ask, right?"

"Well. That's all you can do at least. People sure like to ask for more though," she muttered, which pretty much instantly made everything more somber.

"Mei," he said quietly, reaching out to actually take her hand.

"I know," she said quickly. "I know Al. And it's been better, it has been."

"Good," he said, but couldn't help but notice the unspoken 'but'. "When are we signing the treaty?"

"Next week," Mei answered confidently. "Fuhrer Mustang will be coming in five days, spend two days here while we get the final touches finalized, and then we'll sign the contracts, and the railroads can start construction the very next day."

"That's wonderful."

"I couldn't have done it without you."

"No, no you couldn't have." She smiled again and he tallied up another victory point for himself.

"I used to try to sneak out of my room at night when I was a little girl to stare at the stars," she said after another short bout of silence. "Mother and grandmother would always get so mad – especially when I actually did it and was tired the next morning for an important function."

"Mom would always try to stop me and Ed from doing it too," Al said with a grin. "She eventually gave up though, because we did it all the time. So she would just stay up with us. We would make up stories all the time, just like what I did with the two stars. Only they were usually happy stories. Well," he said, retracting his last statement with his tone. "There was this one story Mom told us once."

Mei lifted herself up on one elbow so that she was facing him now. "What's that?"

"Well, the sun used to shine the whole day and all the animals were vegetarians. But then one day a bear ate a fish—"

"Your Majesty!"

Both they and two of the guards who were standing behind them looked towards the source of the sound.

"What is it?" she asked, sitting up. The dark made it hard for them to make out anything about who the approaching man was.

"There are people, people coming up the mountain My Liege!"

"What kind of people?" she demanded, grabbing her crown off the ground and standing all the way up. Al scrambled to his feet as well.

"We don't know, Your Majesty! There is a huge group of them, and they're all shouting!"

"Prepare all the guards!" she shouted, and one of the men who had been guarding them (well, guarding her, Al just happened to have been there) ran off. The other three congregated around her, forcing Al away. She pushed past them though to approach the man that had brought the news though. "When were they sighted? Who are they?"

"They were sighted coming up the mountain not a minute ago, Your Majesty."

"Are they Drachmans? Xiongnuese?"

"They seem to be Xingese, My Liege."

Mei seemed to freeze. "What?"

"We do not know for sure, Your Majesty, but we have to get you to safety! You are our priority!"

Mei hesitated, staring at the palace and then finally nodded. "Alright. Send the guards to protect the palace. If they are Xingese, do not attack unless you are provoked, and even then hold your fire as long as possible. If they're only trying to peacefully protest, let them. If they have some sort of clear demands or spokesperson, send them in to me."

"Yes, Your Majesty, now hurry!"

The guards almost practically picked Mei up and ran her out of there they all took off so quickly. Al had to hurry to keep up with them, especially since he stopped to pick up the blanket they had been laying on.

As he hurried through the halls though, not sure exactly where he was heading, maybe his room? They certainly weren't going to let anyone in to see Mei right now, probably afraid that anyone was about to assassinate her, but he also didn't want to just hide in his room.

"Alphonse! Do you know what's going on?"

Al spun around at the voice, frowning at who had yelled at him.

"Ling? What are you doing here? I thought you were in the Yao Providence with Lan Fan."

"I was. I just got back earlier today and now the whole palace seems to be thrown into riot. I'm not that exciting, so what's going on? Where's the Empress?"

"There's a group of people marching on the palace. We're not sure who they are or what their intentions are."

"Is it a large group?"

"I don't know," he responded, eyes narrowing at Ling's response. He seemed rather calm about it. "We were told that they're Xingese."

"Thank you for the information," was all the Yao Prince said in response though, bowing his head. "You should probably go keep your eyes on Rikui."

"… Rikui? Why should I go find her?"

"Don't you know?" Ling asked, not even quite looking at him. "The reason her father sent her here was because she was becoming too sympathetic with Revolutionary feelings."

"Revolutionary – what? Ling!"

"So if this is a uprising of some sort, best to keep an eye on her." Ling then swept off without even waiting for Al to respond. He could only stare after him for a few long moments before biting off a curse word and spinning around and racing towards Rikui's room. It was late, so she very well could be entirely asleep…

She was just emerging from her room when he approached it though. She was wearing a robe wrapped loosely around her with long pants, and he short hair was mussed.

"Al? What's going on? And why are you carrying around a blanket?"

"You don't know?"

"… No. Should I?" she asked, frowning now.

"There's a group of people approaching the palace. We're not sure what they're intentions are, but people are worried about an attempted uprising."

"What?"

"I don't know. The guards are all getting ready in case of an attack. Mei's— The Empress is probably surrounded by guards by now."

"When did this happen?"

"They were just sighted about ten minutes ago."

"What's going on? What are we supposed to be doing?"

"I don't know," Al admitted. "I was heading for my room when I ran into Ling and… something he said reminded me to come look for you."

"Thanks, Al." She smiled at him, and he gave her a tight smile in return. "So what should we do?"

"Is there anything to do but wait? If they are peaceful, there's nothing to worry about. If they're hostile, well… we protect ourselves don't we?"

"That doesn't mean we have to wait here like sitting ducks."

"We can't do anything that might make them angrier though. If they think we're getting ready for an attack they might be more easily provoked into attacking."

"The rest of the courtiers are probably cowering," Rikui suddenly said, almost spitting. Al started, staring at her.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I was trying to think about what everyone else is doing in this situation. They're probably all cowering for their lives like the pathetic scum they are."

"Rikui…"

"What?" she snapped, staring up at him.

"… the library."

"What?"

"No one's protecting the library. That's thousands of years of Xingese history. We can't let anything happen to it."

Her eyes widened, and all traces of feelings about other courtiers seemed to disappear. "You're right! We have to help protect it if anything happens!"

He nodded, and they took off, her still in her sleep clothes and him still carrying around the blanket.


	14. Chapter 14

**If you follow me on tumblr, you're probably aware of how much of a struggle getting this chapter out has been for me, which is why it's a week late. Sorry about that. But it is also about twice as long as chapters usually are, so hopefully that at least partially makes up for it.**

**Also, the lovely lovely lovely alr-phonse has done it again! She drew a picture of Rikui! Unfortunately, continues to be annoying in that I can't post a link to her wonderful image, but there is a link on my profile and it is saved in my Favorites file "Art of My Stories" on my Deviant Art account.**

* * *

Al and Rikui waited outside the library the entire night, but nothing ever happened. They alchemized the wall to cover the doors, so no one would be able to tell where they were. If no one could find the library, there was no way they could get there. They waited in front of the covered doors just in case there was anyone among the group storming the Palace (mobs? rebels?) that knew where it was.

They sat together in silence, neither of them really up to starting a conversation. Al was still too busy dwelling on what the mob was even about. He understood that there was a lot of unrest in the clans, but he thought that that was in the outer providences, not marching on the Palace. And most of that had to do with crop failure didn't it, so why would attacking the palace accomplish anything? Despite years of popular Xingese culture, she wasn't actually descended from the gods, she was just as human as the rest of them.

He couldn't guess what Rikui was thinking about and didn't feel prepared to talk about them, especially not with her outburst, so they continued to sit there waiting for something horrible to happen. Occasionally one of them would get up, walk to the end of the hall, look both directions, and then walk back and sit down.

It wasn't until what was probably early morning that anything actually happened. They both scrambled to their feet when one of the many servants in the palace came running towards them. He probably didn't know that they were there because he slowed to a walk as he approached them, looking confused. Before he had a chance to ask them what they were doing there, however as they both shouted at him before he could even open his mouth.

"What's going on?" they both demanded of the boy.

"What are you—The mob's dispersed. There was some in-fighting or something and they broke up. Some of them took off running, others tried to get at the Palace so the Guards shot them. None of them even made it inside the Gates."

"That's it?"

"That's it. No one's quite sure what was going on. They didn't seem very organized, just shouted a lot. No one stepped forward to make any demands or statements. The guards closed the gates, so they couldn't get in and it didn't look like they were too keen to try to scale it."

"How do you know all of this?" Al asked. He expected a quick overview, but he was giving some very particular details. The boy turned to him, then shrugged.

"I was there, Ambassador. I was watching from the top of walls."

"That was risky."

"I wasn't the only one Ambassador. We were all very interested to see what was going on."

"There was just a whole group of people standing on the walls watching this mob storm the palace?"

"Hardly storming the Palace," the boy said, and now his tone was almost derisive. "They caused a bit of a panic, but they were harmless."

"So they dispersed? Went away peacefully?" Rikui asked, and now it was her turn to frown. She was still in her what she had thrown on right before looking for information and her hair was mussed, so it looked more like someone had told her she wasn't allowed to go back to bed rather than dealing with the issue on hand.

"Well… It looked like they were almost losing energy and getting ready to turn around and go back." So that was good news, everything ended alright. Then the fateful contraction: "but—" Of course there was a 'but' "—then someone started screaming. We couldn't make out what they said, but it changed everyone's attitude. Half of them turned back and ran away faster than we could try to stop them while the others ran towards the palace."

"They ran towards the palace?"

He nodded. "Ran at the gates. The Palace guards shot them."

"How many people were hurt?" Al asked, aghast. They had just shot them? The gates were locked though, they wouldn't have been any danger. Why shoot them?

"About two dozen. Three died, and two more look like they're in critical condition."

"What's going on now?" Rikui questioned, stepping forward so that she was slightly in front of Al. He gave her a slight frown before shaking his head. The servant shook his head. "Are they being treated?"

"I don't know. I was sent to get the Empress so that we can figure that out."

"Who sent you?"

"Captain Wei Liang." Al had to confess he had never really interacted with the Captain before, despite the fact that he had been close with the Empress for nearly a year. He could name each of her personal guards (that made things so much easier when it came to them trusting her to be alone with her) but the Head of Security only ever met with her in private. He knew that the man had objected several times to how much time Mei spent with Al with minimal protection, but it always made him smile when Mei would tell him how she wouldn't let him stop her.

"I'll go with you. I want to make sure the Empress is still safe."

"Are you sure, Al? I mean you've already been up for hours, she couldn't blame you if you wanted to go to sleep. That's where I'm heading."

"No, I want to see her with my own eyes," he told Rikui firmly. "I'll go with you," he reaffirmed, turning to the servant again.

The boy nodded and took off down the hall again, but before Al could follow him, Rikui caught his hand.

"Al… Thanks for trying to find me. And… spending the night. Not the best date a girl could ask for, but I wouldn't have wanted to spend tonight with anyone but you."

He stared at her, not quite sure how to respond. He was still debating on how to when she stepped closer to him and kissed him on the cheek. Then she blushed, tucked a short strand of hair behind an ear and walked off.

"Are you coming Ambassador?" the servant asked, only turning around soon enough to see Rikui walking away and Al staring after her.

"… yeah. I mean. Yes, yes I am."

Thankfully Mei was alright. Eager to hear every bit of news about what had gone on. While Al and Rikui had detained the servant for a minute or two, she kept him occupied for a near half an hour asking questions about how many there were, who was in the crowd, how many men, how many women, were there any distinguishable phrases they were shouting, was there anyone who looked like a possible leader, how were they dressed, did they see anything that might have triggered their odd behavior?

The servant answered her questions as best as he could, stuttering to respond to some of them because she was so relentless in getting him to tell her every single detail. Several of the Elders showed up half way through this interrogation, and began asking questions of their own. They mostly talked among themselves, not even stopping to include Mei in the conversation. Not that she could probably be bothered to be brought into it even if they wanted her to join, she was focusing so intently on what they had been saying.

"Your Majesty," one of them, a man by the name of Xiong, said, breaking her out of her deep thought. "We need your leadership to move forward. What should be done with the wounded?"

"Heal them, give them treatment. In fact, I want to do it myself and talk to them."

"I must protest, Your Majesty," he said quickly. "You cannot go and talk to them yourself, who knows how dangerous that might be! They were trying to attack the Palace and no doubt harm you! You can't put yourself in their paths!"

"They are my people, are they not? I am going to talk to them."

"Mei—"

There were sudden hisses and even Mei turned on him. Al immediately bit down on his tongue and tried to start different. "Empress... Are you sure that that's a good idea?"

"What do you mean, Ambassador?"

"I'm just pointing out that they are dangerous," he said quickly in response to her glare. "You know that I'm hardly one to be able to speak out about doing stupid things, after all the things Ed and I got into, but I do feel reassured in asking you to think this through."

"Most of them won't even be able to speak to you, Your Majesty, they are in too much pain. If you are going to speak with them, you at least need to wait until they are better. And I personally am not sure it's worth the effort of making them so."

Mei stared at the Xiong, then glanced at Al. She looked like she wanted to fidget, but she held herself completely still despite the fact that her hair was an easy target. Since they had been outside lying on the ground, she had taken out most of her intricate braids so her hair fell down around her, almost reaching her knees. But the crown was still firmly seated on her head, looking like it weighed more than it had in several months.

"Get them the proper aid. I will speak with them… later. Now all of you, go."

Xiong and the other Elders bowed, then backed out of the room. The servant did likewise, until only her guards and Al was left in the room.

"You too, Ambassador."

"Mei, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Al."

"Are you sure?"

She paused. "… no. But I will be. I need some time alone to think though."

"Alright." He smiled at her and she gave him a weak mimic. Then he acted on an impulse and touched his lips to her cheek.

"… Al?"

"Get some sleep, Mei."

"… alright."

He smiled at her again, then left the room.

* * *

Everything had been going well until that Yao Prince had stuck his nose in.

Hua didn't know what he was doing, or how he had gotten out of the Palace safety. The walls had been shut up tight ever since they approached the place. But about an hour into their protesting, there her had been among the crowd, talking to people. Not stopping them, just talking to them. No one had known exactly what to do, so several of them actually began to talk back to him.

They were the ones that ended up running back towards Chengshi when everything dissolved into chaos. They were the weak ones.

He on the other hand, was one of the ones that ran straight at the Gates when someone finally came to their senses and tried to kill the Prince. If only the man hadn't screamed bloody murder as he tried to do it.

That was when everything broke up. The weaker ones, not ready for that level of commitment, had run back. The stronger ones like him had refused to give up on their chance and ran at the Palace gates, only to get shot at. Some died. He was only injured, along with several others.

To Hua's surprise, they were healed by some of the Palace alkahestrists. Hua personally had been ready to storm and overthrow of the Palace right then and there, but there had been several guard keeping post over each of their individual rooms. Even freshly healed, he was still weak and probably couldn't' have taken any of them out.

Instead he had waited. Waited and waited until the final verdict was finally given to him.

He and the rest of them were to be banished.

Exiled.

Never to return to Xing, upon pain of death.

Hua eyed the unfriendly Xionguese territory, then lifted the hood over his face to shield it from the unfriendly sun. He had people he needed to talk to.

* * *

"The unrest is spreading," one of the Shan Princes said. "Your Majesty, there has always been unrest near the Eastern boarders, and my family has always been proud to do our part to protect the boarders of this noble country, but when even the people themselves refuse to head the call to arms, we can hardly protect anyone."

"I understand," the Empress said, nodding at him.

"The Bin and Lon clans have been having similar troubles. My Uncle has counseled with them. We fear that if this problem cannot be contained, it will spread until it consumed most if not all of Xing."

"A rather useless cliché, I'm afraid seeing as it is already spreading," Ling said suddenly, a rather offensive thing seeing as the Shan Prince obviously hadn't finished his speech. "We've all been facing the effects of this unrest. The monsoons the past two years have made the Southern clans unrestful, left over tensions from the Great war have had the boarder clans upset ever since, the coal boom and subsequent bust has made the Eastern clans a dangerous place, and the North is still facing pressure from Drachman debtors. Frankly I'm surprised it's taken this long for the Palace to become a direct target."

He had effectively made everyone in the Throne Room silence themselves. Even Al felt as if his jaw had been glued shut by his words.

"We are only lucky that the excellent security that was established by our noble ancestors and upheld today by our fearless guards held through the trial. The people, My Lady," he said, now directly addressing Mei instead of the court as a whole, "want nothing more than security. Even since your ascension, through no fault of your own, they have known nothing but instability and unrest. They want to know that they will be safe and there will be food on their tables."

"What do you propose, then, Prince Yao?"

"Give them what they desire, Your Majesty. I don't feel that there's any way to stop these uprising without extreme violence other than to give them what they want. And in this case, giving them what they want is not harmful at all to Xing, in fact, would even benefit it."

"There is no one here that better understands not knowing where your next meal is going to come from, Yao."

"Exactly, Your Eminence. I myself have actually nearly starved on an occasion!" Al had to try really hard not to snort loud enough for everyone to hear. Ling either must have been able to tell or either knew what Al was thinking because he cast him a quick glance and grin. "You know what they feel, and what they crave most. Give it to them and they will be content."

This of course brought all sorts of outcry from the crowds.

"We cannot just give them what they want if it does not exist!"

"And who's to say they deserve it!"

Even with almost all of the most important men in the country screaming at him, Ling stayed completely composed and stared only directly at Mei who met his gaze evenly.

"Very well," she said after a few moments of the screaming. It eventually petered off after she spoke. "We will continue with the treaties from the Amestrian delegation as previous scheduled. No word of what occurred two nights ago shall reach their ears. If I find out anyone told a member of their party, you will be found and sufficiently punished. You are all dismissed."

"Your Majesty, there are still several more issues—"

"I said you are all dismissed. Except you, Ambassador Elric and Prince Yao. I want both of you with me."

The rest of the courtier looks rather put out that she had dismissed them, and Al could hear a few complaining as he struggled to make his way past all of them to meet Mei at the ground level so that they could leave together with Ling. Officially, no one else could leave until Mei had left, unless she specifically told them all to leave as she had the one time Al had been able to sneak up on her.

"Ling, find Lan Fan and bring her to my meeting chambers," Mei said in an undertone, to which Ling nodded and hurried off. Then she swept off down the hall, Al by her side.

"Lan Fan?"

"Ling requested she and their son come and live here in the palace while the unrest in the Yao clan continues."

"It's even there?"

"You heard Ling," she said wearily as she led him through the halls, her guards trailing behind them. "When you visited the Yao clan on your way to the capital, there weren't a lot of trees because of the coal boom, correct?"

"Yeah."

"So many people threw their entire fortunes into the coal boom, that when they began to find less and less lucrative deposits, people began to lose all of their fortunes and everything that they had worked at. The people working in the mines have been pressured into more and more dangerous situations to try and mine more which have led to high mortality rates. The only people who have benefited from every bit of it and not had to worry about losing their incomes on the risk—"

"Have been the Clan leaders who have been taking a tax of all of the money made," Al completed for her, nodding. "Which makes the people mad, and puts everyone living in the Yao home in danger including Lan Fan and Fu."

"Exactly," Mei said, nodding. "And since our security measures have been successful at least once, and because they will be closer to them, Ling requested that they come here. I accepted. One of the servants confirmed that they arrived not even three hours ago."

Al nodded, and despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help but grin as well. It would be nice to see Lan Fan again. And he had only met their son, Fu, once on his way to Xing after Benny had been born. It would be fun to see the somber child, already so different from the lively Benny, again.

"There are actually several courtiers who are now fleeing to the Palace. Your friend Fei Qing among them."

"Fei? He's coming back here?" The boy had returned to his home providence while Al had been in Amestris and had been too busy to return from the rare letters he got out of the man.

"Yes. His father wants him to be here in case anything happens in the Providence. Things are very bad in the Bao Providence because they feel the pressure of both the monsoons and the boarder threat."

There was a pause in the conversation for a moment, both as Al tried to think of a response, and while the guards opened the door to the room where Mei held most of her meetings.

"Well it will be nice to see him again."

Mei quickly set about pouring some tea for four people when they reached her Meeting Chambers, and Al took his seat so that when Ling and Lan Fan arrived he had to stand up to enclose Lan Fan in a warm hug.

"It's so nice to see you again. You look wonderful," he said with a smile. Lan Fan blushed and looked away.

"You're too kind, Alphonse."

"Trust me," Ling said, sliding his hand around her waist from behind. "He's actually being quite rude."

"Your Majesty," she then said, bowing to Mei who nodded and smiled.

"It's good to see you again Lan Fan. Alphonse is right, you look much different when you're not wearing your guard outfit and mask all the time."

Lan Fan indeed was not wearing her signature guard outfit, but something a bit more casual. It was actually rather reminiscent of something that Rikui would wear during Al's alchemy lessons. She still managed to look ready for any threat at any moment, though.

"Please, sit," Mei said, gesturing to the seats around the table. Al reclaimed his own seat, and Ling and Lan Fan sat near them.

"Where's Fu?" he asked as he reached for his tea cup.

"He is tired from our journey and is taking a nap," Lan Fan confirmed, reaching for the cup in front of her while he husband left his on the table.

"I'm excited to see him again."

"I'm sure he will be happy to see you too, Alphonse."

Al smiled at her.

"Al has told me a little bit about him, and about you two, and Ling has said a thing or two himself, but I'm actually rather interested. How did things… Happen between you two. When we were crossing the desert together, you two could hardly look twice at each other but now…"

Ling smiled at the Empress's question and grinned at his wife, who buried her face in her teacup.

"Well, I couldn't have happened without you, Empress. Since it would obviously be entirely impractical if not impossible for you to have fifty children from each of the clans, I as you half-brother, had to be the one to produce an heir for the Yao clan. There was much discussion about who it should be, but I already knew that I wanted it to be no one other than Lan Fan. Because I loved her. And I've known I've loved her since we were teenagers. Since Amestris really; Greed was the one who made me realize it."

"I didn't know that," Lan Fan said quietly. Ling just nodded.

"But your decree never said who my wife had to be. Just that I was the father of the heir. I proposed the idea to Lanny, who was very opposed to it at first. But then I brought it to my Uncle, the Yao Clan leader, and spent the next week arguing with him."

"You spent an entire week arguing with him?"

Ling smiled softly. "Empress... A week was nothing. A man in love could spend a year trying to come up with all the reasons he loves a woman," Ling said, winking at his wife who blushed furiously. Al chuckled while Mei smiled. "By the end of the week I had convinced him that I was right; Lan Fan was the only person I should accept as my wife."

"I took a bit more convincing," Lan Fan admitted, frowning a bit, but having regained her normal color.

Ling snorted. "A bit. She flat out refused me."

"Really?" Al asked, who hadn't heard this part of the story either.

"She wasn't worthy of me, she was better as my guard, we couldn't be together… It took about an age for me to convince her that I love her and only her and wouldn't even hear about marrying any other woman no matter the circumstances, so she'd have to marry me if she wanted the Yao to have an heir. She of course tried to convince me that that wasn't true but… I won in the long run. And you've been happy I did, right, Lanny?"

Lan Fan blushed again, but she nodded which caused Ling to grin again.

Al couldn't keep the smile off his face as he watched the two of them. It made him almost as happy to see them together as it did to see Ed and Winry together. After everything they had been through and everything that they had been through, both individually and together, there were very few people in the world who deserved to be happy together as much as they did.

His eyes caught Mei's and she smiled at him before returning her attention to the happy couple that was now describing their experiences with Fu and the type of challenge he had been so far. Al smiled back even though she wasn't looking at him, a warm feeling in his chest.

* * *

**Also, poll on my profile, so when you check out the art of Rikui, answer that too!**


	15. Chapter 15

**The past month and the next month has been/will be really really bad guys. For me personally, not like for the story. But as far as the whole updating thing... hopefully things can get back to normal/better sometime in late May.**

* * *

As the Ambassador, Al found himself incredibly busy the over the course of the next week. The treaty that the Amestrians and Xingese were about to sign was easily one of the biggest events to occur in relations between the two since the rebuilding of the railroad across the desert, and that had been a war measure to get Xingese goods to Amestrian soldiers. And he hadn't been Ambassador then, having been tucked away in Resembool where the war and military couldn't get to him, so he didn't have any basis for comparison. This was easily the most important event of his entire service as Ambassador.

After checking the treaty for about the seventeenth time, Al had to content himself to pacing around the palace looking for anything that might be out of place or wrong or not arranged right or… anything for him to focus on.

Eventually Rikui grabbed his arm and dragged him out into the gardens where she made him sit down on the bench and eat lunch under her careful supervision. And while he had to protest that he wasn't that bad… yet, he also had to admit that it felt good to just sit down for a moment and eat something substantial.

"Al, everything is going to go fine," she told him as he wolfed down the food, rolling her eyes at him. "You've been working on these agreements for months now, if anything was going to blow up it would have done so a long time ago."

His eyes widened.

"You don't think anything might actually blow up do you?" he said, chocking because he tried to swallow his food too quickly. "This would be a huge chance for someone to attack both the Empress of Xing and the Fuhrer! I didn't even think about something like that and with all of the people involved, what if somewhere were to attack and Fuhrer Mustang accidently set the Palace on fire!"

"I've never met the man myself, but from what I heard about him, and from what I've heard about him from you," she said, emphasizing the last word with a poke to his shoulder, "he's not that reckless and is much too skilled with his flame alchemy to do something like that."

"But Mei- The Empress enjoys blowing stuff up too. I have Elric genes in me. This is going to be a disaster," he said, standing up and moving to run off… somewhere. He didn't really know. Perhaps to lock himself away? He couldn't get rid of Mei or Fuhrer Mustang obviously, but himself maybe…

"If anything, all you're telling me is that all of the most important dignitaries there are going to be more likely to be blowing things up than get blown up themselves which should be something to be grateful for, Alphonse. Now sit down and finish your food."

"Well…" he said, now frowning. "But…"

"Now you're searching for something to worry about. Al, seriously, relax," she said patiently. "Everything is going to go fine."

"I'm just so used to everything going wrong, I don't want that to happen."

"I know. But that doesn't mean you have to make yourself unduly worried when it's not going to help anything."

"When you put it like that it sounds silly."

"It is," she said. "That's what I've been trying to get you to realize for the past couple of days."

"It did all come together rather suddenly…"

"Well the fact that the Palace was nearly overthrown about a week previously did put a certain pressure on it," she said dryly. Then she shook her head. "Sorry, the Palace wasn't nearly overthrown, we're going to have guests in a few short days that can't know anything going on. A slight skirmish in the Capital a few days ago."

"Is that the cover story?" he asked. "I haven't been paying attention."

"For shame, Al, you're probably the person who needs to be paying attention to something like that the most."

"Probably," he agreed before shooting her a smile and stretching. "Back into the fray, eh?" Her smile faltered a bit but she nodded.

"It's a necessary evil."

Al laughed, then wished her goodbye and began twisting through the garden paths to get back to the palace. He really did love coming out here. Everything was so much more peaceful than at the palace, and even if it was already in the most peaceful place in the world, the colors and smells… it was easily one of his favorite things in Xing, if not the whole world.

And speaking of favorite things in Xing.

"Mei- Empress. What are you doing in here?"

The Empress looked flushed. "Looking for you! There were some complications on another rail, so they're sending the Amestrians ahead early so they won't interfere with attempts to fix them."

"What?!"

"They're on their way here, they should be within two hours."

"Empress, we should head back."

Mei nodded at the guard at her side and all three of them took off down the path.

* * *

"Alphonse. It's so nice to see you again."

"Likewise, Fuhrer," Al said, smiling as she shook hands with the man. He hoped the his hastily washed hair had dried enough it wasn't obvious he had run around for an hour trying to make sure everything was perfect and then quickly showered and changed into the formal Xingese robes Mei had told him would work best for the occasion.

"How have you been?"

"Good, thank you for asking. How's the Lieutenant?"

"She's doing well. What about Ed? Haven't seen the pipsqueak in far too long."

Al laughed and shook his head. "He's fine. So is Winry. The baby's not due for another two months, but she's already very ready for it to be done. She barely got a chance to not be pregnant before she was again."

"Well she and Fullmetal certainly don't waste time. Not that Ed's ever been much a waiter in the first place."

"No, he certainly hasn't been. But today, I think we should be emulating him instead of chastising," Al said, gesturing towards the door to the Palace. They had already been checked multiple times, so they at least wouldn't have to endure what he went through nearly every time he returned to the palace.

"Why, Alphonse," Roy remarked, his smirk widening. "What girl do you have tucked away and is she aware of your forward intentions?"

"… what?" The raised eyebrows that soon accompanied the smirk however had Al flushing. "Colonel! Not like that – I just meant we shouldn't waste time!"

"I know exactly what you were talking about, Alphonse. I have a child after all."

"Colonel!"

"I'm just joking with you, Alphonse. Don't we have a treaty to sign?"

Al trailed after him shaking his head and grinning. Working with Fuhrer Mustang was always an interesting experience. He never knew quite how to take him, even when it was Ed working for him.

They were met by an escort right inside the Palace doors that included several of the Elders as well as a couple of the Princes and Princesses over the clans that would benefit the most from the railroads.

They all trailed into the throne room where Mei actually came down from her throne to greet Mustang.

"Fuhrer Mustang."

"Empress," Mustang said, bowing formally. When he straightened though, it wasn't formal words about treaties or railroads. "I don't think I ever got to thank you six years ago for what you did for my Lieutenant. Thank you."

Mei smiled. "It was my pleasure, Fuhrer."

"Now. Don't we have a treaty to sign?"

* * *

After nearly giving himself a heart attack and dying, Alphonse Elric was very pleased to say that the treaty was signed.

Signatures from the Empress and the Elders, Fuhrer and the top Generals and finally it was all done. A list of Amestrian investors was already being considered by several of the Clan leaders. The idea was that several would be picked so that no one Amestrian company would control a major part of Xing's railroads. There was a feast to celebrate, and Al enjoyed the company. None of the soldiers he was familiar with were there, but the Colonel was and he was great company too. Mei even smiled during the evening.

They didn't stay the night because of security fears, instead boarding a train that night (the problem with the railroads had been taken care of by that point), leaving Al to collapse on his bed in his room, still fully dressed in formal Xingese robes, and sleep until a knocking at the door woke him up.

"Who is it?" he muttered into his sheets. His head hadn't even made it all the way to the pillows last night. Then his sleep addled mind reminded him that the person at the door would not be able to hear him very well if he was speaking directly to his bed. So despite the pain it caused him (actual pain as it happened, he had slept on his neck funny) he lifted himself off the mattress and called out again "Who is it?"

"Alphonse! Stop being lazy!"

He dropped back down on the bed.

Then the hammering began again so he rolled off, somehow managing to land on his feet. "Rikui, I'm exhausted," he shouted as he walked towards the door and threw it open. "When was the last time you had to organize and event of international importance—"

"Surprise!"

Al jaw dropped.

"Fei?"

"Hello Al! It is so nice to see you!"

"Fei!" Al shouted, throwing his arms around his friend. "It's so good to see you!"

"Yes, yes it is," he said with a wide grin on his face. Al couldn't help but grin back. Fei's smile was always infectious. He had never met an honestly happier person except perhaps Colonel Hughes when he was gushing about his daughter.

"What are you doing here?" Even as he asked the question, Al's brain provided him with the answer. Of course, Mei had told him that he was coming. Courtiers fleeing the clans for the Palace for protection.

"Things are getting dangerous in the Bao Provence," he said shrugging. "And I thought it would be better to come here where my friends are than anything else! My sister even came with me. You can all meet her!"

"That's wonderful, I'd love to meet her," Al said politely while Fei grinned and Rikui watched the two of them with an amused look on her face. "Give me a chance to change and then we can all go out and do something."

Both of them agreed so Al popped back into his room and quickly pulled himself out of the many layers involved in true formal Xingese dress, and slipped into a comfortable button down and slacks. He slipped a tie on as an afterthought, but left if slung around his neck as he reopened the door.

"You forgot to tie your tie," Rikui pointed out with a smile.

"I know, I was going to do while we walked."

"Here, let me," she said, stepping up close to him and twisting the strip of fabric around until it lay neatly together against his chest.

"When did you learn to tie an Amestrian necktie?" Fei asked, staring at her with as much surprise as Al felt.

"I've seen you tie them before, Al, and I wanted to see if I could figure it out. And I did."

"It's really good."

"Thank you."

There was a pause before he gestured down the hall. "Shall we go?"

"Yes!"

"We could try stopping at Song's," Rikui suggested. She seemed to be leading them so Al hurried up enough that they were walking side by side. "He's probably open by now."

"I would actually prefer to stay here in the palace. Would anyone mind?" Of course them walking side by side meant that Fei was left to trail behind them. Al had to turn around and start walking backwards so that he could turn he could face him as he talked. "Just because I feel safer."

"Sure." Al turned back around so he was walking forwards, even though he was directing his words backwards at Fei still. "But I don't know if you really need to feel unsafe outside of the Palace. There was a bit of a disagreement a few days ago, but things have smoothed over."

"Right. Smoothed over."

Al frowned at Rikui's comment, turning to her.

"What do you mean by that?"

Her lips were pursed and she didn't turn to look at him as she answered, "I mean that you haven't heard the end of all of this, Al."

"Well not the end, no," he had to admit. "But we're making steps towards figuring things out. I think it might be a good idea to actually get together with some of the citizens, but when I suggested the idea to Mei she told me firmly that that wasn't an option because of the way the hierarchy is set up. But the treaty with the railroads is going to help so much. Mei and I were just saying the other day—"

"Al," she snapped, cutting him off. "I know you've put a lot into getting that treaty organized and written so that everyone will agree with it, but I really don't think it's going to be as good as you think it is. And I'm telling you that as someone who had actually gone among the citizens."

He frowned. "Why would you say that?"

"Because it's true?" Rikui said, stopping dead in her tracks and turning to look at him. Al and Fei both came to an abrupt stop. "Al, the people aren't revolting because of a few bad farming years. It's so much bigger than that. It's about _centuries_ of suppression and corruption."

"Mei's trying to help that."

"How? Because it certainly don't seem like it."

"Well, it's a slow process, she has to get a lot of different people to agree with her."

"Which no one ever will! And the fact that she's waiting for that proves just how weak and corrupt everything is. That's not going to be solved by a simple railroad agreement."

"How do you know this?"

"I talk to people. It's something my _dear cousin_ might try some time."

"People have actually been saying this?" She was glaring now and Al was taken aback. He was just asking innocent questions.

"Yes."

"Well then, shouldn't we talk to Mei? Tell her that?" Rikui looked like he had slapped her which didn't make any sense to Al. Wasn't that the natural course of action? He was surprised she hadn't already told her something about this. "I mean if it's making the people upset, she should know shouldn't she?"

"Why do you are so much?" Her voice wasn't the frustrated shout it had been earlier. Now she even sounded like he had slapped her.

"Rikui— What do you mean why do I care so much? Mei's just as much my friend as you are—"

And that's when she slapped him.

Al was completely stunned and touched his hand to his cheek while Fei jumped and shouted "Rukui!" He turned to stare at her. She was glaring at him fiercely, but he could tell that there was moisture gathering at the bottom of her eyes.

"You complete _idiot_, Alphonse Elric. You absolute, completely, miserable idiot."

"… what did I do?" he asked, staring open mouthed. He had absolutely no clue what he had done to provoke this kind of behavior. He hadn't insulted her or said anything…

She raised her hand and it looked like she was going to slap him again so he put himself on guard.

But she didn't slap him again. Instead grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him down the couple of inches that separated them so that her lips were smashed against his.

Al, understandably, froze.

It didn't last very long, she pulled away after just a few seconds. Then she rubbed at her eyes which were staring to overflow and muttered the word "idiot" under her breath.

"…Rikui—"

"Don't you get it Al! I love you!"

His jaw dropped.

"I don't want to be just as good of a friend, I want to be…" Now the tears were coming in earnest, and she continued to wipe them away.

"Why do you think I wanted to come back? Why do you think I bothered to come here? I hate it here! I hate everything to do with this place, I came because of you! I didn't have to come, I could have run away when my grandfather ordered me to come here. I came back because I love you, you complete idiot…" She glared at him for a few moments of heavy silence while he was only able to stare at her in shock.

Then she turned around and ran away.

Al continued to stare after her before seeming to jolt to some kind of realization. "Wait. Rikui. Rikui!"

"Al."

He started and turned around frowning.

"Fei?" The Xingeseman was staring at him with such a serious expression on his face he almost didn't seem like his friend.

"Al, you're my friend. And I'll never be able to thank you enough for being my friend when I had none. But Rikui is my friend too. And I don't want you to hurt her. So please don't go after her unless you can tell her that you love her back."

"… I… She… She's one my best friends," A said still frowning. "I don't want to lose that."

"Yes, but do you love her? Can you look her in the eyes and tell her that you love her back?"

Al opened his mouth to respond but then realized he had nothing to say. The answer was that… no, no he couldn't. He would be eternally grateful for Rukui for teaching him alkahestry and helping him become familiar with Xing, and she was one of his best friends… but love her as more than that?

"Lies are worse than a hard truth, Alphonse. My sister and I can attest to that. Please don't do that to her."

The serious expression hadn't changed and Al frowned. "Fei… what do you mean?"

Fei looked away and for the first time, Al looked very hard at his friend. He had always accepted Fei, even if at first he had thought he was only offering friendship to make fun of him, and always appreciated his company. In the two years that they had been friends he had never seen this side of him.

"My father wanted to marry into the Clan leadership, but my aunt was already married to the Emperor and my mother was already betrothed to a Hong. So he began to meet her in secret and convince her that he loved her. She convinced my grandfather to break her betrothal with the Hong and married my father. As soon as I was born though, he began to be unfaithful and drove my mother to madness. She took her own life two months ago."

"… I didn't know…"

"Don't tell her anything you don't actually mean, Alphonse. It's not worth it."

"Fei, I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to her. You have to talk to her. But not tonight or you're both going to say things you don't really mean and that's going to ruin everything. I couldn't stand to see that happen to either of you. You two are my best friends. You're my only friends. And I don't want to see either of you get hurt." He rubbed at a corner of his eyes before jutting out his chin.

"I wasn't try to…"

"You were just being an idiot. But that can be just as bad," he said firmly. Al didn't know how to respond. He felt like someone had beaten him black and blue. Now all he needed was some nice assassination attempt so he could feel as beat up on the outside as he felt on the inside.

Al threw his gaze wildly around the hall before it finally settled on a nearby seat. It was probably hundreds of years old and a priceless artifact, but he made a direct beeline and sat down with his face in his hands. He felt Fei's hand on his shoulder. "You need to think and be alone. I will go back to my room."

He gave him a pat and then left him alone in the empty hallways to feel like the worst human being in the world.


	16. Chapter 16

**This chapter is ridiculous late and I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry, you've probably all forgotten what happened in the alst chapter because I fail that much. Sorry. Finals and AP tests and final projects and everything all at the same time, then I got sick on top of it and this was a hard chapter to write. It changed itself probably 10 times or so from when I sat down and started to write.**

**You don't want to read my excuses. Enjoy your super long chapter!**

* * *

"Rikui."

He knocked on the door for the eighth or ninth time… or was it the tenth? He had lost count…

"Rikui, please come out…"

As had held true the last eighth, ninth or tenth time, there was no response from the other side of the door. He was pretty sure that she was actually in there… it would be embarrassing if he had been standing outside her door for the past fifteen minutes and she wasn't inside. Then again, after what he had done to her a little embarrassment was the least he deserved. He raised his hand to knock again, then dropped his forehead against the wood.

After sleeping a grand total of two hours last night and staring at the ceiling of his room for another two, he had finally gotten dressed and wandered around in the palace without any real aim. Then he ended up in front of Rikui's room and began to knock on her door. It was still fairly early in the morning, so he assumed that she would still be in her room. Of course she was the one that used to wake him up in the morning for training, so perhaps she _was_ gone.

He felt horrible.

How had he been so blind that he hadn't noticed the signs? He should have. But because he hadn't, he had just kept on hurting one of his closest friends without even knowing it. He despised the idea that he was hurting anyone, but there he was doing it to Rukui. Even if it wasn't really his fault (was it?) he had still been the cause which was something he wasn't sure he could forgive himself for.

Then there was Fei, who Al considered the very first friend he had ever made in Xing. He was always so sweet and sincere, and Al had never looked beyond that. He had never even contemplated the true pain and agony lurking in his family life. Fei had never said anything about his family before except his sister and mentioning that his father had served with some Amestrians during the Great War. Never anything about his mother or their relationship and he had never thought to ask.

Then again, what had he told them about his? So once again could he really be blamed?

The entire situation was not helped in the slightest by the fact that he had only gotten 10 hours of sleep in the past 72 hours.

"Alphonse?"

He snapped around, hoping that he had been right and it was Rikui coming back from training, but his face fell when he saw who it was standing a little ways down the hall frowning at him.

"Mei?"

The Empress, still frowning, continued down the short distance of hallway separating them so she was standing closer to him. She looked very put-together for how early it was, hair already up in its braids and twisted amongst the ever present crown. "What are you doing up so early, Al?"

He sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I couldn't sleep."

"So you decided to disturb Rikui in hers?"

"… well…" He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid I might have hurt her rather badly yesterday. It's one of the reasons I couldn't sleep." He glanced at the closed door and sighed again. "I came here to apologize, but she's either not listening or she's not there."

Mei stared at him for a few seconds, searching his face carefully. Then they shifted away, examining the woodgrains of the wall behind him.

"Rikui's younger brother arrived early this morning on his trip to the Shang Province. She's probably with him elsewhere in the palace. Or perhaps she's escorting him around the markets in the Capital."

He blinked. "She didn't tell me her brother was going to be coming."

Mei shrugged. "To be fair, Alphonse, you have been rather occupied with the treaty. I myself forgot he planned on stayed here for a day before continuing his journey until I was notified of his arrival."

"Oh." Her words were probably intended to be comforting, but if anything they only made him feel worse. It wasn't that much of an excuse; had he really been so absorbed in himself and what he was doing that she couldn't fit a word in edgewise about her own brother making the trip from the Chang Province all the way to the Capital?

"Do you have any idea when she'll be back?"

Mei shook her head. "I don't know when they left or what they're doing. My guess is that they won't be back for several more hours though."

"Great," Al said, wishing he could hit his head against the wood panel of the door a couple more times. At Fei's insistence he had avoided trying to find Rikui for the rest of the day (he had slept well into the late afternoon so that actually wasn't such a substantial amount of time) and then waited almost the entire night. Now she was already gone, and he probably wouldn't be able to talk to her for several more hours.

"Do you want me to leave you to lurk near her door until she comes back, or would you like to help me sort through Amestrian contracts?"

In all honesty, what he wanted to do was to go back to his room where he could hit his head against the walls and bury his face in the pillows without anyone worrying about him being insane. But he realized that that would get him nowhere. Rikui wouldn't be back for several more hours, so he might as well try to do something productive in the interim.

That was, if he could get his mind to focus.

As Mei led him to the room she typically used to take care of such business in and he started flipping through papers, he realized that he had to read everything probably four or five times before it finally began to make sense. Even then, he had to go back and reread it later when the information was referenced. It took him the same about of time to finish one contract for Mei to finish reading through seven.

He rubbed his eyes and grabbed a second one, which went just about as poorly as the first.

Before he could grab a third one though, a hand stopped him.

"Al, what's going on?"

He looked up at Mei, who was looking at him with concern in her eyes. "What?"

"What's going on? You're distracted. What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," he said shaking his head. "I'm just… tired I guess. I haven't had much sleep, and—"

"That's not it, Al. There's something eating you up inside. What is it? Is this about Rikui?"

He could have denied it and continued reading the contract, or even just told her that he didn't want to talk about it. Mei probably would have respected that and left him alone. But he remembered all of the time when Ed would tell him that there was nothing wrong, when Al could very clearly tell that there was something very wrong. It never ended well.

"Yes. I… I hurt her really badly yesterday, and I want to make amends, but I don't think I can."

"Why not? How did you hurt her?"

There was a brief internal fight while he debated whether or not to tell her. After all, it was something that Rikui had told him and him only. He couldn't imagine it would be something she'd want advertised. And telling her more would mean he would have to open up more. But a long look in Mei's concerned face and he found himself telling her the whole story, the confession, how he hadn't noticed, Fei's story, the night he had spent in agony trying to figure out what was going on, and the conclusions he had come to.

"I love her, I do. But… only as a friend. And I wish that I could feel otherwise, or that I could convince myself that I could grow to love her as more than just a friend. And I don't know, maybe I could, but I wouldn't want to lead her on if it doesn't turn into that. She deserves so much more than that. I just don't want to hurt her, but I'm afraid that I'm going to no matter what I do. Telling her that I don't love her will her hurt her, but telling her that I do if I don't will hurt her even more. I wish I could change how I feel, but…"

"Why?"

"It would make everything so much better; I wouldn't hurt her, and if I did feel the same way, I'd be over the moon at the fact that she loves me back, wouldn't I? But as it is-"

"No, I mean… that was badly phrased, I mean… do you know what it is that makes you not love her? That's not what I meant to say either…"

Al frowned, though, his mind already looking for the answer to question. Was there anything in particular that made him not love Rikui? Or not feel romantically attached to her? She was his friend and a great friend at that so why… the thought had already crossed his mind that they just hadn't had enough time. With time to acclimate to the idea he would grow to love her that way with time. Perhaps that was true. But they had already known each other for close to three years now, why wouldn't he have already? What was it that kept him from… pulling her into his arms when she kissed him or chasing her down after she ran away and telling her he loved her as well?

There was nothing that he could think of. She was intelligent and kind, but still had a razorblade edge. She had always been there to help him out. She was fun to be around and insightful and beautiful… so what was it? Why couldn't he love her as much as he loved Mei?

Al froze.

What?

He hadn't just thought that… had he?

"Alphonse?"

He jerked himself back to the present right in front of him, rather than the chaos that was currently being reigned in his thoughts.

"What?"

"I asked… never mind." She shook her head along with the motion, and Al couldn't help but notice features that he didn't think he had ever picked up on before. The slight wisp of hair that had come out of her crown and braid ensemble. The crinkle around her eyes when she frowned. "I wish I could help you, Al, but… I don't know what to tell you. How does your Amestrian idiom go? Stuck between a rock and a hard place? I'm sorry. I'm sure you'll know what the right thing to do is, though."

There was a rapid burst of knocking and he could help but notice the creases around her eyes disappearing as she turned her head to look at the door in surprise.

"Is it really that late already? I'm sorry, Al," she said, now turning her head to face him. "I need to hold a session of Court. You don't have to attend by any means if you want more time to figure things out."

"I… yes, thank you."

She smiled, a quick, tight smile that didn't really reach her eyes – how come he had never quite appreciated that shade before? – and stood up and left the room.

Al dropped his face into his hands.

* * *

He actually hadn't meant to bump into Rikui. And that was what probably made it worst of all.

There was someone he didn't recognize with her, but the moment they both turned to look at him when he called out their names on his way from the gardens to the palace (he had gone there to think) he could tell that they were related. The looks of surprise were nearly identical, even though he was taller and his face was more squared than rounded.

"… Al."

"… Hi," he said breathlessly. He could see the pain in her eyes. All of his confusion about Mei flew out of his head, replaced by the disgust he had felt earlier for himself. How had he done this to her?

"Alphonse, this is my brother."

"Hello," he said, nodding. Her brother gave only a single head jerk in response, which Al couldn't really blame him for. After all, he had broken his sister's heart. Al would hate any girl that had hurt Ed (Winry didn't count seeing as her physical abuse was almost a form of endearment). Then he turned back to her.

"Rikui… I… Look, I wanted to say—"

"I know what you're going to say."

That brought Al up short. "What?"

"I know what you're going to say, Al." She closed her eyes and looked away. "You're going to say that you're sorry and you wish you felt another way but you don't love me."

"I…"

"See? I know you Al. And I know you probably feel awful, but I also know that if you really had those same feelings for me, you wouldn't have waited a day to come find me. So don't try to tell me otherwise."

"Rikui… I'm sorry."

"I know Al."

"No, you don't. I feel horrible! I can't believe I did this to you, I'm despicable, I'm a jerk, I'm a monster—"

"Don't!" she snapped quickly. "Don't call yourself a monster, Al. You're not a monster. You're wonderful. Just… blind."

"Obviously."

"Well I'm not," she said, opening her eye, even if she still wouldn't look at him. The spot over his shoulder had to be pretty fascinating.

"Better than me at least," he muttered bitterly.

Her eyes closed again and she took a deep breath. "Have you figured it out yet?"

"… figured what out?"

She finally deigned to look at him, crossing her arms as she did so, in a pose so reminiscent of her cousin that it was almost foreshadowing. "That you love Mei. Not me." He froze.

"How did you…"

"Like I said Al. I'm not blind."

There was a long pause.

"I… Rikui… I'm sorry."

She stared at him for several long seconds.

Her eyelids drifted closed as a small puff of air exited her nose and a single tear slipped down her cheek. "Go to her."

"What?"

She sniffed, then rubbed her nose with the back of one hand. "I said, go to her. Go be with her."

"Rikui—"

"Go!"

"Why?"

"Because I love you Al." He tried to figure it out, he really did, but he just couldn't make sense of her statement. How did her loving him mean that she wanted him to go to Mei? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Before he could voice his confusion though, she opened her eyes and spoke with a breaking voice. "And because I love you I want you to be happy. So go. Go be with her."

"I… I am _so_ sorry."

"I know."

He floundered, wishing there was something he could say, anything he could do… but the best he could think of to do was step forward and hug her, whispering his apology again. She bore it stiffly, still crossed arms acting as an almost barrier between them.

"I'm going to be leaving with my brother," she said softly as he stepped back. "He offered, and there's room on the train. I already made up my mind, so don't try to change it."

Al, who had had more than his fair share of stubborn people, knew better than to argue. "Do you want me to go with you to the train? I could go grab Fei…" he offered. She simply shook her head in response and Al couldn't really blame her.

"Alright. Your brother's taking you then?"

Just another nod.

"Really… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"If you weren't, I wouldn't love you." He let his head hang, unable to meet her eyes. "Go."

"Court won't be out for another few hours."

"Go anyways, so you can't be a coward and not tell her."

He smiled and went to hug her again, but this time she stepped backward and out of his reach, which stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Sorry."

"Rikui!"

They both turned at her brother's call. He was looking up from a watch, soon held up so that they could see the time it was showing.

"I need to go now, Al. The train…"

"Right," he muttered, uncomfortably.

"Thank you for everything, Al."

Despite his lack of comfort with the situation, he automatically shook his head. "No, it's I that should be thanking you. You have no idea how much you helped me out here. I will… forever be grateful to you."

There was a slight pause as she considered his words with a bowed head. Then, with a deep breath, she raised her head, met his eyes, smiled, and said "You're welcome."

The very next moment her back was turned to him and she was running off to her brother's side. He put an arm around her shoulders and with a backwards sniff at Al, they walked away.

Al took a huge breath and let it out as slowly as he felt he could.

Those thirty seconds or so actually helped. It helped clear his mind a little. Enough so that he was able to turn around and head back into the palace, rubbing the back of his neck as he went. What now?

Well he already had his orders, didn't he? Go to her.

His heart started pounding in his chest.

Despite the fact that it had been six year, he still had to stop and press a hand against his chest.

His heart was beating.

He breathed in and then out. Breathing. Heart beating. Blood flowing.

And there was perhaps no one else in the world who understood that better than Mei. Even if he had friends and family in Amestris who had known him far longer than the Xingese Princess had and each of them had had ample about of sympathy for him and his plight, he had never met anyone like Mei who had simply… understood. And her simple optimism when she promised him that he would get better.

He would do anything to see that type of smile again.

Even if that meant pacing in front of the Throne room doors for nearly two hours until a servant came running down the hall. The boy, probably no older than fourteen, stopped when he saw him. "Ambassador Elric?"

"Yes," Al said with a frown. Something hadn't happened had it?

"There's a phone call for you, sir."

"A phone call? From whom?"

"It's from Amestris, sir, I don't know who it's from though." He couldn't think of anyone who would be calling him. Fuhrer Mustang would be back in Amestris by now, but he didn't see why he would be calling him unless some major crisis had just arisen. He was about the only person he got calls from here in Xing, except—

"Ed!"

Now his heart was pounding for another reason, along with the rhythm of his feet as he ran down the hall. Something hadn't happened to the baby had it? When was the baby due? Another month? Had it been premature? Had there been complications? Or was there something wrong with Benny, or Winry?

He snatched up the phone from a startled looking operator, hoping beyond hope that everything was alright—

"Hello?"

"IT'S A GIRL!"

He jumped at the volume of the sound coming out of the phone and held it further away from his ear for good measure too. After a few tentative seconds to make sure that there wasn't going to be more shouting, he brought it closer to his face.

"Ed!"

"What?"

"You nearly blew out my ear drum!"

"Al! How could you be worrying about your ear drum at a time like this! I have a baby girl! Sara Trisha Elric and she's the most perfect little thing you've ever seen in your whole life!"

"That's great, Ed," he said, sagging in relief. That idiot. "But don't go scaring me like that. I thought something bad had happened."

"Why would you think something stupid like that?" he asked. "And besides, I tried to call you yesterday just after she was born, but someone on your end told me that you were asleep and had just finished a big treaty signing or something. And I would just like to say that I checked my math with the time differences. You were asleep at 1:00 in the afternoon, Al."

"It was an exhausting week and everything unexpectedly went completely alright," Al said with a half-smile and eye roll. "Isn't that pretty early though?"

"Yeah…" The overexuberant, excited voice seemed to drain a little. "Listen, Al… She came about a month early. That's not good, in fact the doctor that we have for Winry said that she doesn't think she's going to make it. I know you're busy with that whole treaty thing, but this is family. We need you here."

"What?"

"Alkahestry. I know you're not perfect at it, but you said that you were doing some research about premature babies and how to help them. None of the doctors here can do a thing for her. We need you. And besides, Win's not doing so well either and I've got my hands full just taking care of Benny. Paninya's been trying to help, but she's working full time now herself…"

Al swallowed. But… He was just going to…

"Of course I'll come, Ed."

"Thank you so much Al. Winry's going to be so glad you're coming. It won't be long. Just until we're sure that Sara's doing alright and then you can go back. Plus, Mustang can't be that mad after everything you've done for him—"

"I'll figure it out, Ed. Don't worry. I… I'll get on the first train there, okay? See you tomorrow."

"Right. I probably won't be able to meet you at the train station, but you know how to get to the shop from the station."

"Yeah. I love you, Ed."

"… Love you too, Al."

There was a click on the other end that represented the end of the call.

Al stared at the phone in his hands.

He was going home.

That should have been a good thing. After all, he was going to see his family. He might even save his niece's life. He was needed there.

But he had just gotten things figured out here. Or at least he thought he had. He thought he was close at least. Not just figuring things out, but… telling Mei how he felt, feeling which he had only discovered he had that morning. Maybe it was crazy.

He had to get packed. He had to buy a train ticket. He should probably call Fuhrer Mustang for good measure.

Yet he hung up the phone and went back to the throne room where courtiers were already beginning to trickle out. Some ignored him completely while others spared him just enough attention to turn up their noses as they walked by. He had hoped that the treaty would have made some of them a bit more open to him and his countrymen, but it would probably be a slow process. He had already accepted that.

He waited until he was sure most of them had left before actually entering the throne room, however. And sure enough, there was Mei, directly addressing some of the Elders who had stayed behind, probably to discuss the issues that had been brought up.

He didn't want to draw attention to himself, but…

"Empress?" They all turned to stare at him and Al swallowed.

"Ambassador," she acknowledged. "If you will give me just five minutes, I can personally attend to your petition."

He bowed his head and stepped back, waiting while she finished the hurried conversation. It seemed several of the Elders were upset about not being included enough in the process of choosing Amestrian investors. Eventually it was agreed that they could have the final approving vote on any of the applicants.

As soon as that was decided, they too filed out until it was just him and Mei alone.

"What is it, Al? How did things go with Rikui?"

"Um." He found he couldn't quite speak properly. "Well. I… she's… gone. Her brother invited her to go with her to his destination—" Which clan had it been again? One of the Northern ones, but which one he couldn't say. "And she left an hour or two ago with him."

"Oh. So… you and her?"

"I told her how I felt and she understood and accepted my apologies."

"For as sorry as I am that things could not have worked out more favorably—" Now did she say that because of politeness, or because she really wished that the two of them had been together? Or did she mean something else entirely? "—I am glad that it was worked out."

"Yes…"

She must have picked up on his hesitancy, though, because her eyes narrowed. And in that moment, he hated her sitting up there on her throne. Hated the throne that kept her raised above the masses and the crown that crushed her.

"I'm leaving."

"What?"

"I'm leaving," he repeated. "Winry had the baby a month premature, and they're hoping that I'll be able to help her."

"Oh no. That's horrible. I hope she's alright."

"Yeah… that's why they want me there. To try to help and make sure something doesn't… nothing bad happens. And they need my help in general, what with Benny and Winry not being able to work. I'm… I'm sorry that I have to leave on such short notice."

"Of course not, Al, you have nothing to be sorry for," she said, adamantly shaking her head. The crown moved back and forth with her head and he hated it. That was all people saw then they looked at her, wasn't it? Not the strong, intelligent, beautiful woman he saw and loved. "When do you leave?"

"As soon as possible. Every moment makes it less likely I'll be able to help."

"Of course," she said, nodding and the crown dipped dangerously. "You may go whenever you're ready."

Then he began speaking without even thinking.

"Do you remember when you first admitted to me your secret?" She froze, whether because of his actual statement or the suddenness of it.

"… what secret, Al?"

"The you don't want to be Empress." Her expression was more than enough to tell him that she did indeed remember it. Probably just as well as he did. The exact feel of her in his arms, the sounds of her sobs, and the weight that had been lifted from both of their shoulders.

"You let me in that day. And I have done my best to make sure you never regret that. I don't want you to ever regret letting me in, Mei. I want to be here for you in any way I can. I've tried."

"And you know I appreciate it Al," she said with a hesitant smile. At this point he didn't even know where his tongue was going. He just knew that he had one chance to tell her before he left that that was now. Whatever happened would happen. But he had to let her know how he felt.

"I've made excuses in the past to explain why I've cared so much. You've become my best friend other than my own brother. I would sacrifice anything for my friends. But… as I've contemplated leaving you, Mei… I've realized that you are the most wonderful person I've ever met."

"Al… thank you."

"You're brave. You're strong. You're kind. You're caring. You're beautiful. You're so wise. You're a great leader. I could go on for hours." The memory flashed into his mind unbidden, Ling smiling and winking at his wife while Al and Mei smiled at each other.

"_A man in love could spend a year trying to come up with all the reasons he loves a woman."_

He could. He could a hundred times over.

"You drive me crazy Mei. I can't stop thinking about you no matter what I do." He stepped closer. "It's like you've climbed inside my head and won't leave. The thought of you makes me indescribably happy and despair at the same time. I can't bear the thought of not being with you." He was walking up the steps now.

"And that's when I realized why."

"Alphonse—"

"I love you, Mei." Her breath caught. He reached out and grabbed her hand, and she didn't stop. "I love you." He lifted his other hand to her cheek and cupped it gently. "I love you."

"Al—"

He took her face in his hands and kissed her. It was gentle, unlike Rikui's hasty and forceful attempt. He didn't know quite… and he could tell that she had frozen.

He finally pulled away and stared at her. Her eyes were wider than he had ever seen them before and the mouth he had just kissed hung open.

"I love you, Mei," he said finally, stroking her cheek with the back of a finger. A brief moment's deliberation told him that he'd already gone this far, so he kissed her again, a quick peck more than anything, and smiled. "I love you."

"Al, I…"

"I just wanted to share that with you before I left." He stepped away, before bowing respectfully. "Thank you, Empress for the favor you have bestowed upon me this night. I will remember it forever."

"What favor?" she asked breathlessly.

"For allowing me to kiss you, Your Majesty."

"I… you're welcome, but…"

"Goodbye, Your Majesty. You don't have to ever mention this again if you don't want to. I just… I had to say that before I left." He bowed his head again stood, exiting the throne room, cheeks burning. He had done it. That was all that mattered. If he was going to leave, he at least would like to have no regrets as he did so.

Of course he was eventually going to have to come back to Xing after Sara was okay and Winry and Ed were on top of things, he would have to deal with that then. She had every right to forbid him from ever setting foot in the country again, indeed only the fact that he was an Amestrian would prevent her from having the right to kill him. Mei probably wouldn't do that just by virtue of being Mei, but—

"Wait! Al!"

He turned around, frown in place, when all of a sudden she was running at him and then throwing herself into his arms, so that her arms wrapped around his neck. He was very nearly knocked over, and almost certainly was when she kissed him.

It lasted about as long as their first one did, and he reacted about as well as she did until she dropped down onto her feet, now with only her hands behind his neck instead of her arms.

He stared at her for the space of about a second.

Then he was kissing her, and she was kissing him back, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss, which he responded to in kind. Her had an arm around her waist, and cupped her face with the other, practically floating with how his heart wanted to burst.

He did eventually pull away though, staring at her with wonder in his golden eyes. "Mei…"

"I love you," she whispered back at him. "I love you Alphonse Elric."

"Mei," he whispered again, before hugging her fiercely, then picking her up and spinning her around, all the while whispering that he loved her.


	17. Chapter 17

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARLYN.**

**I KNOW IT'S ALREADY TOO LATE IN YOUR TIME ZONE BUT I STILL HAVE AN HOUR AND A HALF OF YOUR BIRTHDAY LEFT IN MINE. SO I CAN STILL WISH YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY. SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY.**

**EVERYONE WISH HER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY FOR SHE IS AWESOME AND AMAZING AND DESERVES LOTS OF LOVES :D :D :D :D**

**I wanted to write something specific for her for her birthday but June is just not a good month. So I took the depressive parts out of the chapter and only left in the fluffy stuff.**

* * *

Al woke up when he felt the sun pounding against his eyelids and immediately had to fight the urge to groan. It was too early to get up! Yes the sun was up, but that was no reason for everyone else to have to be up. He could just roll over and maybe pull the blanket over his head—

Then something small but very compact landed on his chest.

"Oof!"

"Get up Uncle Al! Stop being lazy!"

He groaned loudly before rolling over, very purposefully trapping the small body beneath his.

"Uncle Al! You're crushing me! I'm going to die!"

"Well that should teach you not to wake sleeping Uncles in the morning," he replied.

"I can't breathe!" the little boy said dramatically, and Al chuckled, lifting himself up so that he could crawl out from under him. But just when he had almost escaped, he let himself fall, trapping his feet.

"Uncle Al! Stop being a poopy head!"

"A poopy head? A poopy head! How dare you call me a poopy head! You need to get your mouth washed out with soap young man!" He grabbed him, which only caused more squealing as he then flipped him upside down and marched downstairs, dangling him by his feet.

"It looks like you two had fun this morning," Winry remarked with a smirk as they came into the kitchen. Al threatened to drop Benny on his head which only caused more squealing before finally flipping him right side up and putting him on his feet.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Al answered with a straight face.

"Uncle Al nearly killed me!"

Her eyebrows rose. "Al?"

"Serves him right for waking me up far too early in the morning."

"What's this about you trying to murder my son, Al?"

"He's being an over reactive little demon, that's what."

"How dare you call my son a demon!" Ed protested, quickly putting Al in a headlock.

"Ed!"

"Brother!" Al said, even though he couldn't quite stop himself from laughing. "Alright! I'm sorry. I never should have insinuated he was anything but a perfect gentlemen that will one day be recognized as the epitome of polite society!"

"Yeah. That's right," Ed replied, letting him go. Al chuckled, pushing Ed further away from him. Ed responded by jumping at his brother, pulling him down the inch or two that Al had outgrown him by, and ruffling his hair.

"You think you can disrespect your older brother, do you?"

"Bring it on, pipsqueak!"

"I'm not short!"

"You're a midget, Ed, get over it," Winry said dryly, smacking a pan down on the stove to capture both of their attentions. Rather than yelling at his wife (a true testament that marriage and fatherhood _had_ mellowed him) Ed just grinned and abandoned his grip on Al to instead wrap and arm around Winry's waist and kiss her cheek.

"Did you already feed Sara?"

"Yes," she answered briskly, scooping some of the eggy mixture from the pan onto some of the plates.

"And?"

"She kept all of it down this time."

"Excellent," Ed said, his grin widening as he turned to the toddler sitting in the corner of the kitchen. He swept her up into his arms and started to tickle her stomach, making her squeal and yell out "Daddy!"

"We'll have this girl shoveling down real food like an Elric in no time."

"Hopefully she ends up with Al's end of the Elric eating genes," Winry said dryly, setting the plates in front of her out on the table.

Al grinned and thanked her when she handed him his plate, but his eyes rose soon after.

"Chocolate chip pancakes?"

"What? How come Uncle Al gets chocolate chip pancakes?" Benny protested, frowning at his plate of normal pancakes and eggs.

"Because you're not leaving for Xing for who knows how long," Winry responded. Al smiled sadly.

"You mean… you're actually going to go? I thought you said you might stay!"

The smile softened. "I'm sorry. But I really do have to go."

"But… but… If you stay I'll let you eat my ice cream for a whole month!"

"Sorry, buddy," Al said, ruffling Benny's hair. The antenna he had inherited from his father poked back up. "But I've already spent far longer in Amestris than I ever planned to."

"But Uncle Al!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to do my job."

"Why?"

"Because I have to. You'll understand when you're older."

"Why can't you quit?" Ed asked.

"Ed!" Winry snapped, "Don't encourage him."

"No, it's an honest question," Ed said, ignoring the food in front of him to point his fork in Al's direction. "You took the job in the first place for a legitimate excuse to go to Xing and learn about alkahestry. You've already learned just about everything they can teach you." He shrugged, then stabbed a bit of egg and swallowed it without chewing.

"Believe it or not, Ed, I actually like Xing. It's amazing there."

"Amazing enough to make up for missing out on your nieces and nephews growing up?"

Al winced and Winry reprimanded Ed again. But Ed didn't apologize and stared at him directly.

"Brother, you know I do my best—"

"It always seems like your making excuses to run off there," Ed continued. "And once you're there it takes a miniature crisis to get you back. It's like we've been practically having to guilt you into staying here with your family. What is it about Xing that makes it more important than family?"

"Ed, this is not fair. You know I love you guys and I want to be with you. It's just that… Is it really that bad for me to love being there too?"

Ed didn't answer, just stared until Al wanted to shrink away or something. The children were watching with wide eyes.

"Of course it's not," Winry answered for Ed when he continued to not answer. "We just wish that you would make more of an effort to stop by every once in a while. There's nothing wrong with loving Xing." Ed grunted, which definitely didn't mean he agreed, but Winry took it as an agreement and began her own breakfast.

"Now, you need to get dressed if you want to come to the train station to tell Uncle Al goodbye," Winry told Benny once they finished. He crossed his arms and glared at her, informing her that he didn't want to get dressed, but a quick glare and he was scurrying up the stairs. She followed quickly, bringing Sara with her, to make sure he actually dressed himself in something acceptable for them to be seen in.

There was a frigid silence between the two brothers as Al carved his pancakes into bite sized pieces.

"It's Mei, isn't it?"

Al jerked. "What?"

"The beansprout. That's why."

"I don't know what you're talking—"

"She's the reason you stay so long. She's the reason you're always there. You love her."

Al opened his mouth to deny it… and found he couldn't. He couldn't lie to his brother like that.

"Yes…"

Ed breathed out through his nose.

"And does she love you?"

"It's… been a while. And we've called, but they're always so short and full of other business. I've wanted to send her letters, but I haven't want to… incriminate her or anything. " Al pause for a moment, grimacing. Then he raised his eyes to Ed's, speaking with utter confidence now, "But I know she did.

"How do you know?"

Al smiled softly at the memory. "She told me. I realized that I loved her the last time I was in Amestris and I was… actually going to tell her when you called and told me I needed to come back. I kissed her." His smile grew at the thought of her shocked expression as he took her face in his and kissed her, something he had wanted to do for so long.

"At first she was too shocked to say or do anything and I took that as her not returning my feelings. To be perfectly honest, if she hadn't returned them she would have been well within her rights to order me executed. So I turned to leave… when she came running at me from her throne and she kissed me and told me that she loved me."

"And?"

"And… I promised I would always come back for her. That I would wait for her until the end of the earth and longer." Al closed his eyes. He and tried so many times over the past two years to remember the way those words sounded when he said them. To remember the way her eyes shone when he said that and then sealed it with a kiss. "And then I left… And then things were so busy with researching and trying to help Sara, and she almost died there, so I didn't want to leave her even as she was getting better in case there were any more complications. Then the protests shut down rail travel which is the only safe way across the desert, then a million things… I meant what I said, though, and if she'll still have me after making her wait a year and a half, I'll be the happiest man on earth."

"But she's the Empress… how…?"

"I don't know," was his solemn answer.

* * *

Mei didn't see him at all the first day he arrived back at the palace.

She didn't invite him to see her, she didn't send him any messages acknowledging the fact that he had arrived, didn't even welcome him back the first day he arrived back in court. He would admit to being confused. It had been a year and a half yes, but even if her feelings had changed, ignoring him completely? Couldn't they at least still be friends?

Had her confession all been a lie? Had it changed so quickly?

He didn't want to doubt her. But considering she hadn't even seem to recognize the fact that he existed…

She didn't even give a sign that she knew he was there until a full week after he arrived at the palace.

Even then it was only to ask a clarifying question about Amestris while discussing a problem in court.

He tried to gain an audience with her, but found his attempts unfruitful. She was always busy. There was always someone talking up her time.

"I can't be that bitter or jealous," he told himself as he combed his hair in front of the mirror in his rooms. It was quite therapeutic, he had found, to talk to himself while grooming. It helped him get his thoughts out in the open and really consider them. It was also about all he could do. The books he had picked up from the library required a reference text that was still being sent to the palace and Fei was at his home in the Bao province.

"She's the Empress. It must be really hard for her to make time to talk to me because she's so busy… and I have no guarantee that she still feels the same way about me. It has been a year and a half… I still love her, but…" Didn't people who love each other make time for each other whatever the circumstance?

He rested his hands on the counter and bent his head.

Who knew?

Then there came a knock on his door.

Al looked up at the mirror and saw the image of his own frown. Now who would that be? He hurried to the door and opened it—hoping that maybe, just maybe…

His heart sank when it was one of the many servants employed at the palace.

"Ambassador Elric?"

"Yes?"

"The Empress has requested your presence."

Al didn't even go back into his room to change into nicer clothes. He was in a button down and slacks. He didn't have a vest or tie on, but he wasn't going to miss a second of Mei actually wanting him to be there, no matter what her feelings for him might be now.

It was almost frustrating having to follow after the servant. He partly wanted to run down the halls. But he would wait. He could do that.

"Wait here, Ambassador," he said when they reached a set of doors. He entered them and left Al outside them.

He waited impatiently, tapping a foot against the ground until the man came out again, holding the door open.

"You may see her. Ambassador Elric, Empress."

Al entered the room and grinned upon seeing Mei. She had changed even more in the time he had been away. Not much, but her face a little narrower, her hair longer, the circles under her eyes darker.

"Ambassador," she said, standing up from behind the desk she was sitting at. She wasn't wearing her robes, like she had been a few hours earlier during court. It was something that almost reminded him of what she used to wear in Amestris. Only instead of shades of pink, the tunic was black with deep gold trim and showed off a great deal more curves than her previous outfit. She was wearing her crown, though. "I'm glad you could come."

Al blinked. Ambassador? He glanced back at the door to see it firmly shut. The servant wasn't there.

"Mei?"

She seemed to falter slightly before straightening. "My apologies for not having contacted you before now. Welcome back to Xing."

"I… thank you. It's… uh, good to be back."

Her lips twitched upwards, but hesitantly, as if she wasn't quite sure if she wanted to smile.

"I…" She closed her mouth before opening it and trying again. "How is Ed? And his family?"

"They're… good. Benny's getting interested in automail. Ed was horrified when Benny announced that he wanted to follow in Winry's footsteps. And after that scare where we weren't sure if she was going to make it… Sara's fine. She's great. Already talking in simple sentences, Ed thinks it's a sign that she's got his alchemic genius." He wished they had been able to talk more on the phone while he was in Amestris, at least then this wouldn't be as awkward. Or at least he hoped it wouldn't have been. He didn't know.

Mei smiled and walked around the table that she was standing at.

"That's great. And, uh, how… how are you?"

"I'm…" Confused. Trying not to feel hurt. "Good."

She nodded.

"That's… good." They both nodded and smiled slightly before looking away. Al glanced at her again. There was a slightly pink tinge to her cheeks as she arranged some of the papers on the table so that they were straighter.

"Mei—"

"Al—"

They both smiled and gestured for the other to continue.

"No, go ahead," Al eventually insisted. "You're the Empress after all…"

"Well… uh… about what happened… before you left…" Al felt his mouth go dry. Her tone seemed too hesitant. Afraid of hurting him.

"Mei—"

"We didn't get much chance to talk about it and if you would rather forget about it and move past, I will not begrudge you."

He frowned.

"What?"

"I do not want you to feel as if you are bound by the promise you made to… wait for me. Nor by any feelings you expressed. I won't punish you for a changing mind or heart."

"I… I didn't… Mei…" She watched him with her chin raised. She looked so beautiful that he couldn't get a sentence out right. And her statement had not been at all what he had been expecting. She seemed to think that he had changed his mind or was going to go back on what he had told her.

He couldn't seem to make words come to his mouth.

"Mei…"

"Al—" He decided in that split second that the best course of action was to simply cut her off. Mostly by way of slipping one hand behind her head and the other around her waist and pulling her against him into a kiss.

She squeaked slightly, but he didn't move and eventually her felt her relax and her arm slip around his shoulders.

"Mei, I told you I loved you," he said when he eventually pulled away. "That's… not going to just change."

"I… I didn't think… it'd been so long and you weren't acting like anything had happened—"

"I was afraid that you didn't want to talk about it at all. It had been nearly two years—"

"I wasn't just going to forget about it or move on—"

"Neither was I."

She smiled, perhaps the first real smile she had used since he had seen on her face since he told her that he loved her, and he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

"I love you, Al," she told him, muttering into his shirt.

"I love you, Mei," he responded.


	18. Chapter 18

**I made extra double sure that I had this chapter up today because I'm busy all weekend. Flying for the first time tomorrow, any tips?**

* * *

Empresses had always had precarious positions as leaders of Xing. Much of the systems and traditions that had held the nation together for centuries now were based on a patriarchal system. Indeed, less than ten percent of the rulers of Xing had ever been female. Because of the odds stacked against them, most Empress's rules were fraught with problems and difficulties that had bred a natural prejudice against female rules.

Even though he knew all of that, and logically he couldn't blame a great number of the Xingeses citizens for that sort of mindset, he had never recognized it quite so keenly as those first few days after finally clearing the air between him and Mei.

First, there was the matter of heirs. An Emperor could sire 50 children practically as fast as he pleased, and traditionally, the sooner he had, the more secure his position was (though Mei had laughed out loud when he read that passage from one of the books he had picked up from the library to her – more heirs meant more competition and the increased likelihood that you'll find yourself dead one day).

For all of Al's exasperation and amusement when he found out Winry was pregnant weeks after giving birth to her first son, that would be the only way that an Empress could get by producing half of the heirs she was supposed to. There was physically no possible way she could bare 50 children, and after the first five or six, they would become so weak and feeble, Xing would almost be better off without them. Even then, tradition was for the Emperor to take the eldest daughter of each of the clan leaders. But the eldest sons were almost always destined to take over the leadership of the clan from their fathers, which meant that the Empress either had to take the younger sons, if existent, which was by nature the weaker blood, take the clan's future leader away from the clan, or allow the men the power of being both her husband and clan leader and their children the split position of being both heir to the throne and clan.

Very few Empress had been able to navigate that one task. Some attempted to have the heirs regardless. Several had simply ruled heirless and allowed one of their brothers to take the throne after their death. One Empress about three centuries previously had married the required men, choosing the eldest son, and instead had her various husbands impregnate her most trusted handmaidens, then claimed the children as her own. Upon her death, however, all of the children were denied the throne on account of them lacking the Royal Blood required to rule, and one of her brother's took the throne.

On that regard, Mei's take was positively genius. By allowing her brothers and sisters to have their own heirs, and claim them as hers, she was avoiding taking clear partial to any one clan by choosing one husband before another or baring one's child before another's. She ensured that each of the heirs would have a direct and legitimate connection to the Emperor's bloodline, and at the same time kept herself free from having to bare any children.

"I would love to have children someday, myself," she had told him, "but with the situation as it is… I don't know if that will ever happen."

"Won't the Chang clan need an heir though?"

"But who could be the father? My only male cousin is already married with his own children. Choosing a husband from any of the other clan's children would cause a riot and disrupt the balance between the clans. And I can't choose a commoner because that would be polluting the nobility of the bloodline."

That was perhaps the part that galled Al the most right now.

There was a long history in Xing of… less than virtuous Emperors. Affairs, concubines, consorts, and mistresses were a common and accepted part of almost every Emperor's reign since the first Emperor Xing. The Xingese populace was practically littered with bastards and their decedents. And it didn't matter who the Emperor's eyes happened to land on, whether they be Princesses, commoners, foreigners, or in a couple of stories that had Al red to the roots of his hair, the same gender. As long as he was producing a healthy number of legitimate heirs, the number of extra-marital relationships he had didn't matter.

If an Empress were to have a relationship with any of the above, though, well… Empress Su Hwa had been a breath of fresh air for Xing after a string of incompetent rulers, but after a slew of reforms that cut back the power of both the Emperor and Elders and having six heirs, she had been caught having an affair with one of her guards. The guard was executed, all of her heirs had been illegitimized on the grounds that they could not even be the clan's true heirs, Su Hwa had been stripped of her privilege to regulate anything in the palace, guards or her new husbands, and placed under a regulatory guard instead of protective. A prisoner in her own palace, and politically alienated from all of her previous allies, she had to watch as all of her reforms were repealed until she was assassinated and replaced by an elder brother.

If Mei were to be caught have any sort of relationship with an Amestrian Ambassador?

Her position was already precarious enough. Her reign had started with one of the biggest wars known to human history after all. Things hadn't gotten much better ever since with the subsequent surrender and then the debt. For being the Daughter of the Morning, she couldn't actually control the weather, which seemed to be doing all it could to spite her. Despite the fact that her reign had brought unparalleled growth and industrialization, and the standard of living was improving across the country, much to her frustration, riots and uprising had not calmed.

In fact they were worse.

The protests that had kept Al from traveling to Xing for several months were only a symptom of far greater problems in the heart of the country. The entire Xingese court was struggling to keep the problems under wraps and not allow word of it out to other countries, especially not ones to whom they owed debt. If Al hadn't been close friends with Mei and almost as concerned about Xing's welfare as her, he would have been completely in the dark as well.

Instead, when the news came that two nobles were dead, he was one of the first people on his feet and trying to help figure out the situation.

The messenger was one of the many servants employed at the palace, a boy probably about fourteen, who looked like he had run all the way from the palace doors to the throne room as fast as his feet could possibly carry him. He handed the note to a pale Mei who accepted it. The seal had already been broken when the guards inspected it, so she only had to unfold the frail paper and read out loud in a voice almost as frail to the courtiers gathered around the base of her throne and the ones that remained in their seats.

"On the 27th, a Clan Capital in the eastern area was stormed by a group of approximately 100 citizens, all armed. After several hours of fighting with the guards and inhabitants, the palace fell into unfriendly hands. Two…" her voice faltered, and Mei had to stop and take a breath before being able to continue. "Two nobles residing in the palace were murdered outside the front gates of the palace."

There was an immediate shocked silence, followed by an outburst of whispering. Al put a hand over his open mouth.

"Does it say how?" someone, Al couldn't tell who, asked.

Mei cleared her throat again, and continued reading. "Both were forced on their knees and shot in the back of the head. The group of insurgents proceeded to threaten the rest of the inhabitants while setting fire to the palace. A small force of soldiers who were posted nearby were alerted and were able to respond about an hour afterwards. The palace was recaptured. Several nobles are injured, but no further casualties."

Her hand was shaking as she slowly lowered the note and looked at the gathered crowd, all of whom were staring at her, most looking terrified. Al couldn't blame them, this was the first time that any of their kind had been hurt outside of an assassination attempt in probably longer than most of them had been alive. Certainly no noble blood was split fighting in the war, that was for the commoners to do. And though some riots and protests had gotten dangerous at points, they had always been safe.

"You're all dismissed."

Al struggled to make his way through the small crowd up to her throne, he wanted to talk to her about this, but she was already turning away, descending from her throne to meet with the Elders off to the side. He tried to push his way through to catch her before she started discussing the issue with them, but an arm caught him around the middle.

"Not right now, Al," Ling whispered, pushing him back. "Give her a moment. Besides, I have something I need to share with you."

"Ling?"

"Come on," he said gently, turning Al around and leading him out of the hall with an arm over his shoulder. The familiarity of it honestly surprised Al. It wasn't that Ling had ever denied the fact that they were friends, in fact he was usually quite open about talking to him, in Amestrian no less, in loud tones about his wife and children, Fu and the newest addition, 6 month old Quyi.

But this much physical contact in such a public place, plus the tone of voice he seemed to be using around him…

"Ling, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked in an undertone, just in case it was something that no one else was supposed to know about. There wasn't something wrong with Lan Fan or the kids was there?

"… Let's get somewhere a bit more private," he said in the same gentle voice, directing Al away from the clusters of intensely whispering nobles and courtiers. This didn't do anything to calm Al's worries, and a deep sense of foreboding slipped into his heart.

"Ling, what is it?"

Ling didn't answer, instead picking up the pace of his confident strides down the hall of the Palace, his lips pressed together in a straight line.

He opened a door that Al didn't recognize, pulling Al in the room after him.

"Sorry for that, Alphonse," he said, then turned around. His face was grim. "I wanted to get you away from everyone else."

"Why? What is it? What's wrong?"

Ling pursed his lips together again, then exhaled sharply through his nose. "I wanted you to hear it from a friendly source."

"Hear _what_?!"

"Your friend is dead."

Al froze.

"… what?"

"Your friend. Fei Qing." Al stared at Ling, unable to breathe it seemed like. "The Revolt they just got word of in Court. It was the Bao clan. Your friend was there when it happened. He was one of the two nobles that were shot, him and the Bao Prince."

"… no…"

"I'm sorry, Al. I didn't want you to have to hear it from someone else."

"How do you know?" He had to be wrong, if not even Mei knew that information, how would Ling know? Especially if only just happened.

"I thought there was going to be trouble in the area, so I had a man there to report information on what was going on. He called me right after they set the palace on fire."

"… well he could be wrong, couldn't he?"

"He said he recognized both of them immediately, and I trust him. I'm sorry."

Al stared at Ling, then shook his head. That wasn't possible… "No."

"I'm sorry," Ling repeated, putting a hand on his shoulder. "If you want I can leave you alone…" Al didn't respond, still too lost in the news to really register Ling's words. He only dimly recognized Ling letting go of his shoulder before raising a hand to the back of his neck.

There was a click as Ling closed the door behind him.

* * *

He opened his bedroom door when someone knocked on it a few hours later.

Mei took one look at his red eyes and dropped her head. "You already know then."

He nodded and that was when she pulled him into a hug.


	19. Chapter 19

**After 6 months I finally have another chapter up! Yay... I was going to wait to post the new chapter until I'd made it all the way through editing the previous chapters, but I decided most of you would probably rather just have the chapter. Just keep in mind that I am working on updating previous chapters, but have only posted up to chapter 10. SO if you're going to go through and reread the whole thing to remind yourself what's going on in the story (or if you already had and you were wondering why it was wonky) that's why it's weird.**

**But here you go!**

* * *

"I can't claim that I knew him all too well," Mei said softly, placing the cup of steaming tea on the table in front of Al before sitting next to him and tucking her feet up by her body so she was leaning against him. "But I know he was very close to you."

"He was my only friend here for a long time," Al said softly, putting his arm around her waist and leaning his head against the top of her hair.

It had been two weeks since he had heard the fate of Fei, and he was still having trouble conceptualizing it. The funeral had been the day before in the Bao Province. He had only returned to the palace a few hours previously, and almost immediately his presence had been demanded by the Empress. He hadn't exactly been sure what to expect, especially when he heard her yelling at someone quite emphatically upon arriving at her door, but after the grumpy Elder had walked far enough away Mei had dragged him inside her room, dismissed her guards and pulled him into one of the tightest hugs he had ever been privy too. That had let to him sitting on the cushion in front of the table where she hosted visitors while she prepared tea for him.

"I know, Al… I wish that there was something I could do, but I'm not actually… I can command armies, but I can't help you where it matters most."

"No, Mei," he said quickly. "You're fine. In fact, you're being more helpful than I think you realize." He hadn't been able to tell Ed or Winry. He hadn't really known how to. So having Mei there, someone who understood how close he and Fei had been and didn't have to be told about his demise… it was more helpful than anything else he could think of.

"I just wish I could do more," she said, turning around and brushing his blond bangs away from his forehead. "You've been able to help me so much, I only want to return the favor."

He smiled softly. "I know. And I know it won't change a thing if I tell you that you don't have to do anything."

"Of course it won't." He smiled at her, probably one of his only smiles since hearing the news. She smiled back at him, but it faded quickly, replaced by a look of worry. She pressed her lips against his forehead, then hugged him tightly again.

"I'll be okay."

"I know."

He drank from the cup of tea she had laid out for him in the silence and she let him think.

"Did you know about his mother and father?" he eventually asked.

She paused before answering. "Yes. Unfortunately it's not an uncommon story. I've hear far too many like it."

Al dropped his gaze, staring at his tea.

"I saw his father at the funeral and I just couldn't imagine what it would be like to want power so much that you'd be willing to do that to another person. And I don't understand how he was his son."

"Did you ever get to meet his mother?"

"No… Fei always wanted for us to go on a trip around Xing, exploring all the different provinces. He wanted to show me his home… now that can never happen."

The pause that had become the signature for this conversation took over.

"He took after his mother," Mei offered weakly. "It's really not all that surprising that she believed everything Dao told her about loving her. People like her and Fei… they're too good for Court."

"What about you?" he asked, nuzzling the side of her head with his own.

"What about me?" she asked, her voice part perplexed, and part apprehensive.

"You said people like her and Fei are too good for Court, what about you? Do you think that you're a part of the corruption?"

Mei stilled against him.

"I don't know," she said guardedly.

"Mei?"

"Yes?"

"This is me. This is Al. You don't have to be on your guard around me."

"I don't know what you're—"

"Yes you do. It's me."

She hesitated for a moment longer, then finally her body relaxed. "I meant what I said. I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not."

"Mei—"

"I've tried to make things better for Xing, but when I look at what I've done it looks like all I've managed to do is borrow from Amestris to pay Drachma and make a handful of people ever richer than they already were."

"You're not borrowing though. Not really, you're using their money yes, but you're using it to help make yourself more self-sufficient. That's a good thing."

"I know. And logically that's what I tell myself. But there's still so much anger… I wonder if I'm doing any good at all."

"You are," he assured her. "You're doing wonderful things for Xing. It's just… moving slower than you would like."

She spared him a smile before shaking her head. "I was supposed to be the one comforting you, silly man. Not the other way around."

He smiled slightly again. "What if I take comfort from comforting other people?"

"Then you, Alphonse Elric, are a rare man indeed."

"I take pleasure in that, actually."

"So do I," she responded. "I really don't know how I was so lucky as to have you for a friend."

"Friend?" She turned a little pink, but then straightened up and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Friend. With… romantic attachments."

Al smiled, grinned really, and kissed her back. "I can take that."

Mei moved back to her previous position, leaning against his side. He kissed the top of her head and she sighed, whether out of pleasure or exhaustion, he didn't know. She did, however, grab one of his hands and hold it. The silence that fell between them that time was more comfortable, especially as Mei began almost massaging his hand.

In fact, he was so comfortable that his eyes began to drift close and no matter how he tried he couldn't keep them open.

When Al woke up, Mei was no longer in the room. He looked around, but simply couldn't find her anywhere he looked. There wasn't a note, but his now cold cup of tea still sat on the table. So he had been asleep long enough that that had gone cold. There weren't any windows in this room, seeing as it was in the center of the palace for safety reasons, so he couldn't tell by how light or dark it was. His only bet was to wander outside the room and figure out by the traffic in the halls.

He really hoped he hadn't slept through the whole night. If that was the case, it was good thing that Mei had left, lest they be discovered together in an inappropriate situation. Even if they'd been discovered in an entirely appropriate situation, across the room from each other, people still would have talked. And talking was the last thing Mei needed, especially with something like what had happened already on her plate.

Actually, Al thought as he paused with his hand on the doorknob, they would have to be more careful in general in the future. Now that the provinces weren't safe for nobles anymore, they would be sure to start flooding to the palace. There would be more people than ever crawling around, watching them. He briefly even wondered if they'd have to stop meeting together at all, but quickly dismissed it. With all the stress that she was under, there was no way that he would abandon her. Beside, everyone had known that they were friends long before they developed any kind of romantic relationship.

They hadn't been caught yet.

It wasn't as if they were doing anything all that scandalous. But things in the Xingese court had a tendency to get blown wildly out of proportion. Only a few days after Fei's death, he heard stories claiming that fifteen nobles had been killed in their own beds without even getting the chance to beg for mercy. Al didn't think that even fifteen nobles resided in the Bao Province, let alone the Capital all at the same time. If news got out that Al and Mei had spent a night in the same room together, he was positive that by the end of the week stories would be circulating about the Empress being pregnant with a foreign bastard child.

Nor for the first time, and certain not the last, Al cursed the fact that they had to deal with politics like this.

Sometimes Al wondered in his heart of hearts what it would have been like if Mei had never actually gotten the Philosopher's Stone. If Ling had found it, or if it hadn't been found. She wouldn't have become Empress without it, for sure. Then again, if she hadn't become Empress, the Great War would have still broken out and Amestris might not have had Xing to count on as an ally. Maybe Al would be too dead to worry about a romantic attachment to a would-have-been-Empress.

Al shrugged back the sleeve of his dress shirt to look at the watch he had around his wrist, flinching slightly as the memory of buying it out in the market with Fei rose to the forefront of his mind. He had slept the whole night, in fact, a session of court had probably already started, which meant that he could either not attend or arrive late. Arriving late would surely bring more attention to himself than he wanted, but if he simply never showed, odds were that no one other than maybe Ling or Mei would notice. That aside, he wasn't sure he was ready to face the whole court already, so soon after Fei's death.

Instead, Al made his way to the library where he planned to lose himself in the thickest alkahestry textbook he could possibly find. As he approached the doors however, another memory attacked him. Him and Rikui waiting, standing guard outside the library doors during the attempted… protest? Siege? He still wasn't entirely sure what the episode was supposed to be.

He wondered how she was doing. He hadn't received any word from her. Had she heard about Fei? Most likely. How had she reacted? She had never been as close to Fei as Al had been, but they had all been friends.

Al snorted. He had only made two friends while in Xing: one had since been killed by a political revolt and the other one had left because he broke her heart. And then there was him, desperately in love with a woman the world refuses to let him love.

With that train of thought on his mind, he walked into the ancient library. He loved spending time here; the collection of texts housed here was probably one of the greatest archives on the planet. He had had almost unlimited access to the State Alchemist's Library because of Ed's position, but most of those books had been reprinted or updated. These texts and scrolls were originals, some dating back centuries. They were priceless pieces of history that made Al giddy in a way that even the rows upon rows of books the Central Library hadn't.

Instead of heading to the section of the library he knew he could find alkahestry texts, however, Al found himself wandering to the political history area of the library, perhaps the only area that outgrew alkahestry. There were records of the Emperors here dating back to even the clan leaders that preceded the First Emperor, Xing, housed here, but that wasn't what he was interested in. He surveyed the shelves upon shelves of knowledge, then began to pick through them with his eyes, searching for anything that caught his attention.

After nearly three hours of reading titles and first pages, Al emerged from the shelves. He quickly located one of the men, Liu Liou that most often worked in the library.

"Master Elric," the man whispered when Al approached, bowing. Al reciprocated the gesture, then straightened.

"I was hoping you would be able to find me a book or two on a particular topic."

"What topic would that be?"

"Political revolutions in Xingese history."

Liu touched a finger to his lips, thinking. "I know just the books, Master Elric. _Unrest in Xing_ by Cuong Pho or _Revolts and_ _Revolutions_ by Peng Xing."

Al blinked, surprised he had managed to come up with such an immediate answer. "That's wonderful. Are these both books I can take from the library or would I have to read them here?" Some of the older texts you had to stay in the library to read, so he just wanted to check and make sure.

"They can be taken from the library."

"Excellent. Where are they?"

"They are not currently available," Liu said, staring at Al evenly. "They have already been requested."

"Oh." Al frowned. He supposed that made sense, he couldn't have been the only one interested in a topic like this in the current time. He was just surprised that anyone from the Xingese court would bother to find a book to read about it. "Do you know when the books will be returned?"

"They should be available for your perusal sometime in the next three weeks. I can have a message sent to your room if you would like."

Al thanked him profusely, bowed again, and turned to left, but paused at he was heading towards the door.

"Out of curiosity, who was is that checked the books out?"

"Prince Ling of the Yao clan."

Al blinked in surprise. He hadn't realized that Ling was interested in the library, let alone taking a book out of it. Then again, if it was only Ling that had the book, he would be able to go talk to him and see about maybe reading them while Ling wasn't. So that was actually rather good news. He nodded at Liu, then continued on his way out of the library and back into the hall. It might be a bit much to ask, but he'd like to spend some time with Mei again this afternoon before she got absorbed in another task.

* * *

_All 34 of them were executed in the front courtyard of the Bao palace and their bodies hung outside for the birds. The Dao man watched, smiling the whole time. Officials from the palace arrived shortly after the executions and expressed displeasure at the swiftness in which they had all been killed, but did not make any orders to stop the desecration of our brothers' bodies._

_We are in dire need of assistance._

Hua Pang gripped the letter tightly, then reached out for a clean sheet of paper and a pen to write with. He had good news to spread.


	20. Chapter 20

_2 September 1924_

"Tell me, how are things in Western Amestris?" Al asked the man sitting next to him eagerly. The man was rather tall with slightly greying brown hair that he had pulled away from his face in the slightest stump of a ponytail. He was wearing a suit that reminded Al of the kinds Fuhrer Mustang was fond of, though the effect was rather different from the one that Roy created when he was wearing it. Whereas Roy looked very polished and suave in a suit, this man looked solemn and reserved. "I haven't been there since years before the War. Are they rebuilding?"

"Rebuilding has been progressing fairly well. It's a huge effort, Ambassador Elric."

"I'm familiar with rebuilding, trust me," Al said with a small smile. "You forget who my brother is. I was always helping clean up after his messes. Do you have alchemists assisting with the efforts?"

"We have some, yes. They have been very helpful."

"I'm so glad. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't your company involved in building the train to Xing?" Al hoped he wasn't wrong in that fact. It was indeed one of the reasons that he had suggested Ralston Foyes as an investor in the Xingese infrastructure boom. He thought a man involved with building the railroad to Xing would be a little more trusted in a country that as a whole didn't trust Amestrians very much. "Did you have alchemists working on that project?"

"There weren't many alchemist to be spared with the War going on at the time," Foyes said in a voice that was starting to border on monoto"ne. "We managed to get our hands on one or two that were too injured to be in the line of battle.

"I wish I would have known about it; I would have been delighted to help in that particular effort. Instead I worked in a factory during the War."

"I'm sure you were much needed."

"I tried to be helpful," Al said simply. "But enough about the war. I'm so glad you could make it here to Xing."

"Well, after you literally knocked on my office door, Ambassador, I felt it was the least I could do." Al chuckled, even though the man hadn't seemed amused when he said it. Then again, Al was never entirely sure how this man was feeling since he was so dry all the time. When he had arranged to have a meeting between the Empress and the largest current and potential businessmen involved with her own infrastructure program, he had been very persistent in tracking down everyone he thought needed to attend. That included Foyes, but he had been reticent about meeting with Al, so instead Al simply walked into his office and knocked on the door.

The process of wrangling agreements out of all of the businessmen, however, had left Al away from Xing for almost two months now. He had been back a single day during which he had slept and then been thrown into getting ready for visiting forgieners. He still hadn't gotten around to seeing Mei what with helping the early arrivers get used to the idea of Xing and on some occasions serving as an interpreter.

"You're going to love it," Al offered. "The food prepared by the palace cooks is amazing. The rooms are all very tasteful and comfortable. And the gardens at the palace easily put anything in Amestris to shame."

"When will we meet the others?"

"Rasband is supposed to be arriving tomorrow. Packer and Nelson are already at the palace."

"Yes… shouldn't we have arrived by now?"

"Traffic in Xing is very slow; the cities just weren't designed with cars in mind and there's foot traffic everywhere."

"Well at the very least, roll down the window," he commanded imperiously, probably the first time the man had adopted any kind of tone around Al other than shock when he burst into his office. And he didn't mind the fact that he had been ordered to do something; it was the request itself that had him cringing. He had purposefully left the windows up and covered using the pretense of shade just on the off chance it happened again. The arrivals of the two other businessmen yesterday had been an affair he'd rather not relive.

"Are you sure, sir? The shade—"

"Shade won't do me much good, Elric, if I'm sweltering from lack of air circulation."

"… of course sir."

Al rolled down the window on his side and almost immediately something came flying into the car through the open window and smacked the businessman right in the face.

"Sir!"

"What was that?" he asked, but now he could hear the shouting and yelling of everyone watching and impeding the car's travel. Al looked out the window and was honestly impressed; there were more of them today than there had been yesterday.

"Protestors," Al responded apologetically. "They're not very fond of some of the Empress's policies, including the contracting of Amestrian businessmen."

"Where else do they propose to get the capital?" Foyes asked, actually expressing perplexity.

"I know, sir, but you can't blame them for being frightened at the prospect of being so financially dependent and indebted to another country."

"Amestris is still paying our own reparations."

"I know. Xing is too. Many of the citizens don't like adding Amestris onto the list of debtors. It will be worth it, though. I really believe that."

Something else hit the car very near to the window, enough so that some of the mud splattered inside the car and hit Al on the face.

"I hope for your own sake that it is, Ambassador."

* * *

After the third of the Amestrian businessmen arrived, she managed to come upon the three of them taking a walk around the grounds, accompanied by some of her own guards that had been repurposed when they realized the extent of the protests against their coming.

They seemed startled to see her, probably because they weren't anticipating her looking so young. They knew of course that she was female and probably knew that she was young, but new dignitaries were almost always surprised that she was the same age as most of their daughters. There was no way, however, that they would be able to misunderstand who she was, not with the way she was purposefully dressed.

"Welcome to Xing."

"Your Majesty," the all muttered, bending down into bows of various depths.

"I am grateful you all managed to make it here."

"Of course, Your Majesty," one of the said as the other two straightened. "We are delighted to be here."

Just then, Mei caught sight of something moving in the bushes, but dismissed it quickly and turned her attention back to the Amestrian businessmen. "We are delighted in turn to have you here. I only hope that you manage to enjoy yourselves."

"I think we will be fine here, Your Majesty," one of them, she believed Packer, said, bowing low enough to prove that he had listened to Alphonse's debriefing on proper Xingese manners.

"Then it is done. I'm glad we managed to come to an agreement."

"As am I, Empress," Nelson said, bowing low enough to prove that he had _not_ listened to Al.

Mei smiled at him all the same. "Now, if you will excuse me I have other matters to attend to. I will see you at the feast tonight. Please, relax until then. Your quarters are ready to receive you at any time, and the palace is open for your exploration. The servants will direct you almost anywhere you wish to go."

"Thank you, Empress."

"Of course." She smiled once again before nodding her head (no small task with her crown) and leaving the men to be escorted away by the guards. Her own guards broke off to surround and follow her, which she allowed for a few paces, before asking them for a few moments of solitude.

"Your Majesty, with hosting this conference here it is not advisable—"

"Hosting this conference has quadrupled the security around the palace, Lein Ma. I will be safe. And I will remind you that I am by no means helpless myself."

"But I would feel far safer if you were to—"

"I will order you to leave me alone, Lein Ma."

The man pursed his lips.

"… Very well, Empress."

"I will return to you in an hour."

"Can I count on that, Empress?"

"… You may count on an hour, but you are not allowed to come searching for me until an hour and a half has passed."

Once again, the guard looked severely displeased, but nodded and stepped back as she entered the gardens alone.

She walked around the flowers and plants for a few moments alone, breathing in the smells. The gardens were magnificent at the palace. It was perhaps the one thing she enjoyed about being Empress the most. It was only once she had been wandering around in the gardens alone for a few minutes that she felt a hand latch onto her wrist and drag her off the path.

The grip was forceful and before she had time to react her arms were pinned to her sides and something covered her mouth so she couldn't scream.

Mei, however, was not alarmed in the slightest, and instead of attacking, wrapped her arms around her attacker, kissing him back. There were no words between them for a few moments before they finally broke apart.

"Al, you're ruining my makeup. Everyone's going to be able to tell."

He muttered a comment about not caring what anyone else thought, but after a final (and perhaps longer than it had to be) kiss, he let her lean her head against his shoulder. He ignored the heavy metal that also weighed down on his shoulder and held her tightly.

"I'm sorry I didn't contact you when you first got back," she breathed.

"You were busy," Al said understandingly. "I was busy too. Those businessmen are a lot needier than I thought they would be. I'm almost positive Packer was the only one that listened to my lecture about Xingese culture and manners."

Mei smiled. "I'm surprised you didn't tell everyone you ran into back in Amestirs about how to properly hold chop sticks; you were so excited when the prospect of this banquet became serious."

"I only told half of everyone. The people who were important. But Benny is completely convinced he wants to move here as soon as he's old enough to travel by himself and come live with me."

Mei laughed, hugging him even tighter.

"I'm glad you're back. It feels much better being together again."

He bent down and kissed the top of her head, narrowly missing the crown. "We're together again. That's all that matters."

* * *

Ling had demanded lunch with the Ambassador shortly after this exchange, and since it had been an uncommonly amount of time since Al had actually spoken with his old friend about anything other than politics, he agreed. He was not expecting some of the first words out of Ling's mouth after starting on his food, though.

"So Alphonse, are you having an affair with our Empress?" Ling asked calmly, taking a sip from his cup.

Al promptly started choking on the sip he had just taken.

Ling didn't seem overly alarmed by the sight of his friend struggling to free his windpipe and abandoned the tea in favor of stabbing his chopsticks into his bowl of rice, waiting for Al to regain his ability to breathe.

"What?"

"Are you having an affair with our Empress?" Ling repeated. "A blind man could tell you two love each other, though I suppose that says something unsavory about our Elders' eyesight."

"What, wha— why—" the poor Amestrian spluttered.

"Why would you have an affair with her?" Ling mused, taking a moment to slowly chew a mouthful of rice. "Well she is a fairly attractive woman, she is my half-sister after all — apparently my attractive charm comes from that side of the family — as well as very powerful. She's also highly intelligent. It's not that odd that you would be tempted to engage is such relationship with her—"

"We aren't having an affair!" Al finally managed to spit out.

Ling's only response to that statement was his eyebrow disappearing into his hairline. Al was slowly but surely progressing from a pink color to bright red.

"If you two aren't having an affair, then why do you always have trouble keeping your eyes off each other when you're in the same room?"

"I… well—"

"Or the fact that you two frequently disappear and no one, including the Imperial Guards, ever seem to be able to locate you."

"We're friends…. We don't like—"

"And I suppose my telling you I found you two in the gardens this morning during one of these moments when no one seems to be able to know where you are wouldn't change your answer at all?"

"I… Uh…"

"You two seemed to be a bit too engaged to notice my _qi_ slinking around in the bushes," Ling continued, paying no attention at all to the alchemist, who at this point could have been strung up as part of the Palace's decorations at New Years. "How long has it been going on?"

"It's not an affair," Al said again firmly.

"You're really going to have a hard time explaining this one away, Al."

"It's… we've never… I mean… we've—"

"Yes?"

"Well… it's not really an affair if we've never… we've never had… We've only ever kissed."

"You've never had sex with my sister?"

Al flushed an even brighter shade of red, if that was even possible, but shook his head resolutely.

"I see," Ling said, returning once again to his food. "I suppose that is indeed wise. If you two never sleep together you'll never get her pregnant, which would certainly be the end of any chance she has at being Empress. Still, you are in a relationship, yes?"

"Well, yes. I love her. I love her more than anything."

"And she returns the feeling?"

"Yes," Al answered, honestly confident in the answer.

'Well I wish you two the best of happiness. The gods know I probably would have been in the same situation Mei is in only with Lan Fan if I had become Emperor. Though I don't know if I would be able to be as virtuous as you two seem to be."

"So you'll keep our secret?"

"Of course," Ling responded easily. Al actually chose to believe him. After all, if he couldn't trust Ling there really was no one among the court he could trust. "I will warn you though that secrets don't tend to last long in the palace. There are eyes and ears everywhere."

"We've been keeping it up for nearly three years now."

For the first time during the conversation, Ling actually seemed taken aback. He stared at Al with a much more interested (and shocked) expression. "Really?"

"Part of that time I have been in Amestris, but I told her that I loved her and she told me she loved me back about little more than three years ago."

Ling continued to stare at Al for a few more moment before closing his mouth and nodding slowly. "I have to say, Alphonse, I am honestly impressed. If it's taken me this long to figure it out, you two just might pull it off. I have to wonder though, what do you plan to do? You must know that you don't have any hope of marriage. Are you planning to simply continue loving each other in the shadows and kissing in the bushes for the rest of your lives?"

"I…" Al said hesitantly. "I don't know. I suppose for now. Until we can't stand it any longer. Who knows, maybe Xing will decide to switch to a democracy and she'll be free to move to Resembool with me and we can raise two kids."

Ling snorted. "The day Xing decides to switch to democracy is the day that I go a whole day without eating and don't faint."


	21. Chapter 21

_17 April 1925_

The idea had been simple.

After an all-time low crop turn out, they wanted to boost morale. It had been one of the Elders' idea and Mei had grasped at it. Protests were getting worse and they were starting to get death rates back from the provinces. Very few were actually dying of starvation, but illnesses were ravaging an undernourished nation, particularly the southern provinces who depended most heavily on the crops turning out. New crops had been planted, but as it was still only April, there was still a ways off until they would be able to reap the rewards of the new season.

The Elder had proposed they hold some sort of celebratory event. The palace would pay for the party and at the same time make a show of strength, because there were still several nations knocking on the door looking for money. Al wondered how paying for an entire city's celebrations would help a problem that had to do partly with debt, but he knew that if he voiced such a concern that he would be ignored. Mei would probably pay attention to him, and maybe even Ling, but both of them had been too engrossed in the problem to be paying attention to an Ambassador that wasn't even really supposed to be privy to the subject matter.

Many ideas were tossed around about what they could do that would be a celebration, feed the people, and show strength all at the same time, and eventually they had come to the conclusion of a parade.

He wasn't entirely sure of everything that would entail at first, but he came to discover it mostly consisted of hiring a lot of dancers and entertainers to walk through the city gathering people until they reached the palace where there would be a feast provided. The Elders had not anticipated Mei wanting to accompany the procession, and indeed tried to convince her not to, but she insisted that the actually see her. In the end they had to agree because what better show of confidence than to appear in public? They did win the concession of having several others with her so that she wouldn't be an easy target.

Al was chosen to be one of the people accompanying Her Majesty, though Al wasn't entirely sure why. He suspected that Mei had something to do it and she wanted him near her, but he also supposed he could have been chosen on account of his skill with alchemy, alkahestry, and martial arts. That was perhaps the more logical option, but then again he was in Xing so who knew? Al loved the Xingese, he really and truly did. The nation had completely captured his heart, its Empress regardless. But sometimes he simply could not fathom the people.

He just wished that he wasn't having so much trouble with his horse. Someone was supposed to have gotten it ready for him, but he had been added onto the list of people to accompany the Empress late enough that they didn't have the proper regalia available for him. When the mistake was noticed, a servant was sent off to fetch the proper attire for the horse and Al left to stand there holding the horses' reigns hoping he didn't look ridiculous because he didn't know what he was doing. Which was entirely likely, he realized as he noticed a noble from the Lee clan walk by, snickering. In fact, likely.

There wasn't much else for him to do though, really. He couldn't release the horse lest it run away and he couldn't mount it because it wasn't wearing the proper regalia. Plus he wasn't sure he even remembered how to ride horses. He had learned once before, surely. Somewhere. Sometime. He couldn't remember when he exactly but it had to have happened

Maybe.

"Are you having difficulties, Ambassador?" Al glanced up at the figure that had just approached on her own horse, on the whole a magnificent creature that was arrayed as only the Empress's horse could be.

"They didn't have the right uniform for the horse," he mumbled, mostly because he noticed the several other people behind Mei. Two elders, three guards, and a handful of her allied siblings. Al was actually rather surprised that Ling was not among them. He resolved to ask the Xingeseman why he had chosen not to be a part of the parade. Al had actually been hoping that he would so that Al wouldn't be left alone. Mei wouldn't be able to pay attention to him because she would be the focus of the affair, which would leave Al with no companionship.

"I assume the error is being corrected?"

"The stable hand is fetching the right one now, Your Majesty."

Mei did not respond so they waited for another minute and a half before the stable hand came running back towards them and more importantly the horse. The boy couldn't have been much older than 16 and immediately began blushing when he realized his audience. He then immediately set to work on the quickest dressing of a horse that Al had ever witnessed and, afterwards, bowed so low to Mei that his body was at a 90 degree angle.

"Join me, Ambassador." Al blinked in momentary surprise, but then nodded. Joining her would mean that they would ride side by side, at least to the parade, and the rest of their party would be obligated to back away to a distance that they could not overhear them. He eyed the horse then took a deep breath and suck one foot in the stirrup then heaved himself over the side of the horse. It was far from graceful, but he made it in on the first try which was an accomplishment enough for him to be satisfied with.

"When was the last time you rode a horse, Alphonse?" Mei asked as he managed to convince the horse to walk forwards, side by side with hers.

"I'm starting to think never. It was a long time ago. There was a horse back in Resembool that our neighbor would let me, Ed, and Winry ride sometimes. But he was always leading it by the reigns; we were just sitting on the back. Horses didn't like me much as armor. Fei might have taken me out riding at some point. But from the evidence, obviously I don't remember much of anything."

"You just need some time to get used to it," she said reassuringly.

"How long have you been riding?"

"I first learned to ride a horse side saddle when I was six years old," Mei said, initially cocking her head to the side slightly to think.

"You've been riding since you were six years old?"

"That is actually quite young for a princess. I know the Han princesses are first placed on a pony when they are four."

Al whistled, deeply impressed. "That's pretty crazy."

"Says the boy who began to learn alchemy at the age of four."

Al grinned at her. "I never said I wasn't crazy either. Now that Ed has actually had kids he's convinced that Mom was crazy to let us try alchemy at all, let alone as unsupervised as we were. And I have to agree with him. When Benny turned 5 and I realized that I had already started learning alchemy at his age? I was blown away. I couldn't believe it. It seems like it was so long ago…"

"Well it was nearly two decades ago."

"I don't feel that old."

"I don't think it's a matter of you being old, Ambassador. I'm pretty sure it's a matter of you learning at such a ridiculously young age."

Al laughed, probably louder than he should have, making him blush and glance guiltily at the entourage following them. When he looked over at Mei and saw her holding her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at him, though, he decided that it had been worth it.

Or at least it would have been worth it if it hadn't been for the sharp voice that came from behind them.

"Empress!"

Both Al and Mei turned to look at the man, Xiong, who had spoken. His face was even sterner than usual, this time mixed with a heightening color that clearly conveyed his displeasure. "We are approaching the beginning of the parade now. Do you mean to continue to disgrace the honor of this event by joking with the Amestrian throughout the whole affair?"

Al watched as the smile she had been repressing was wiped clear of her face, replaced by the Empress mask.

"Of course not, Xiong. Ambassador."

Al bowed his head, all merriment gone, and tugged on the reigns enough that the horse fell back to join the mass of Elders, courtiers, and guards. They all gave him looks he wasn't entirely sure how to interpret other than 'unfriendly'. Xiong rode ahead slightly and began to speak to Mei in low tones, but from the sound of their voices floating back on the wind Al could tell that he was chastising her.

He pursed his lips. He wanted to do something to protect her against the Elder and his words, but there was nothing he could do.

He wished that they didn't have to do this. That 'they' weren't forbidden and scandalous and he could just make her laugh without someone complaining about the impropriety of it all! But as had been astutely pointed out by Ling… they were stuck in limbo. No way forward and no way back. Simply… there.

And there was nothing they could do about it.

* * *

_29 July 1925_

Mei thought that she wanted to spend every single day for the rest of her life exactly like this. There were no courtiers. There were no politicians or dignitaries. There were no debts. There were no riots, no protests, no problems whatsoever. The only thing that existed was Al.

They were lying on her couch, Mei tucked up against his side. She didn't worry at all about falling off the side because of the arm he had pulled around her, one hand rubbing circles on her back. It wasn't exactly a massage but it was more relaxing than she ever could have imagined. In turn, she was resting on his chest, tracing idle patterns on his shirt.

After the day she had had, honestly, she needed this. Which had been part of the reason Al had insisted on it. She had been forced to listen all day about how most of the crops in the southern clans had been destroyed by another brutal batch of moonsoons. She had felt so utterly helpless. There was nothing she could do to control the weather. She couldn't make crops return. She wanted to send food to the people, but there simply wasn't any. They were discussing agreements with Amestris and Aerugo to purchase some, but those probably would not come to fruition for a while yet.

In the end there wasn't much of anything she could do. And she had been planning on going to her room and staying up until the next morning studying what her predecessors had thought to do when Al had interrupted and told her that he knew what she was about to do and that he wouldn't stand for it. He had let her stress herself out too many times; this time he was going to nip it in the bud. She wasn't allowed to think about it.

Not for the first time, Mei felt her heart swell with how much she loved this man. She couldn't even fully describe it with any of the languages she knew. And the more she thought about everything he had done for her the more she felt like she needed to cry and laugh and kiss him until neither of them could breathe—and then she couldn't stand it any longer.

"Al…" Al made a confirming noise in the back of the throat to show her that he had heard her, but he didn't his shift position. "Let's get married."

This time he did move. He physically jerked and Mei took that as her cue to raise herself up, elbow on one side of Al, hand on the back of the couch. That way she could look him in his shocked golden eyes.

"What?"

"Let's get married Al." He frowned.

"But… Mei—"

"Lets just get married!" Mei exclaimed, dropping so that she could bury her full face in his chest. "Let's get married and spend every day like this and not have to worry about if we're going to get caught or only get to spend a few hours together. Let's just get married," she finished in a desperate whisper.

"But… how can we?"

"It usually involves being pronounced man and wife by someone with authority—"

"No, I… how can we?" he stroked the back of her head which encouraged her to lift it enough to look at him again. "The treaties and… Mei, I'm an Ambassador. And an Amestrian to boot, how can we…?"

They shifted position so that he could sit up straight, though he still kept a hand on the small of her back. "I don't care. I just don't care anymore. I love you and want to be married to you. I want to be able to spend the rest of my life with you without having to hide or pretend like we're only friends. I want to have children, Al. Don't you want that?"

"I... I mean I do. I would love that. But Mei, you can't… are you serious? Do you really mean it?"

"Yes. I'll tell the Elders tomorrow. I'll tell them that it's strengthening ties between our countries. I'll let them have some of their pet projects. I'll tell them whatever I have to. Do whatever I have to do. I don't care anymore Al." She smiled at him and put her arms around his neck. "We're going to get married."

"We're going to get married." His grin slowly began to grow.

"We're going to get married." She leaned in to kiss him, but he let go of her waist and got off of the couch they had been cuddling on. "Al?"

"If we're going to get married, I feel like I should do this properly," he said in response to her question. He dug in his pockets for something and then clapped, touching his hands to whatever it was he had pulled out. Then he got down on one knee in front of her.

"Mei Chang, you are more than just the Empress of Xing, you're the Empress of my heart. I love you and if you're going to give me the chance to spend the rest of my life with you I'm going to take it in a second. And even though you've already asked… Will you marry me?"

He held up the ring he had just transmuted from a spare gold coin he had tucked in a pocket.

"Of course," she responded, smiling. He slipped the ring on her finger before kissing her hand, which only made her smile wider. He then used his grip on her hand to pull her off the couch into the standing position he had just taken and began to kiss her.

The kiss last longer than their usual kisses and Al took advantage of the fact that Mei had taken off her crown a while ago to bury his hand in her ample amounts of hair. She loved moments like this. When there wasn't any Empress or Ambassador or Xing or anyone caring about what they did or didn't do… It was just the two of them.

"Ed is going to go crazy when I tell him."

Mei grinned. "I thought you said he liked me now."

"I said he doesn't resent you for stealing me away all the time anymore. And he'll never let me live down having married an Empress. And I doubt he'll give our children any slack just because they're Princes or Princesses."

"We'll have to invite them, obviously. And all of our old friends from Amestris. Dr. Marcho, Mr. Scar, Yoki, I guess inviting the Fuhrer is a given."

"Of course." Al loved seeing her grin like this. It was something so rare. She was also so stressed and worried all the time that this genuine excitement and happiness only came once in a blue moon. "We will have to invite all the politicians and dignitaries."

"I don't care. They can all see how much we love each other. We're going to get married."

"We're going to get married," he repeated, matching her grin with one of his own and then even surpassing hers. "Mei, we're going to get married!" He laughed and then grabbed her by the waist, picking her up and spinning her around. Mei laughed with him as he spun her around, around and around until he was so dizzy he tripped over his own feet and they both fell down on her massive bed. The only result thereof was to laugh some more while trying to detangle themselves from each other.

"I love you, Al," Mei said as Al pulled away from her. He paused, then took her hand.

"Mei. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. And I… I never thought that we… I mean I always hoped but I never wanted to say anything because I knew it was impossible but Mei… The only thing I want more than to be married to you is for you to be happy. And if marrying you will make you happy then there is nothing in this world that will make me happier."

"There's nothing that would make me happier."

"Then we're going to be the happiest couple ever."

"We already are."

Al laughed and bent to kiss Mei.

"Yes. We are."


	22. Chapter 22

**I have a few announcements before we get started!**

**The first one is most exciting, for me at least. As many of you may know, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have recently been called to serve a mission for the Church in the New England area of the United States. I will serve for a year and a half, and while I am on my mission I will not be accessing the internet or paying attention to fandoms.**

**So this is an announcement for a year and a half long hiatus… not that I've honestly been doing much here lately anyway. But this time it's announced rather than just happening!**

**Because of this however, I am really hoping to get things a bit more tied up before I leave. I will be leaving and officially going AWOL on Jan 24, 2017, so in the next 20ish days, I am going to be trying to blitz through some of my unfinished fics and my absolute priority is this story. It was one of my New Year's Resolutions to finish it last year and I failed. But I really want to try to get it finished off completely before I leave so there's some closure.**

**So wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed!**

* * *

When Al woke the first thing he noticed was the weight of something on top of him.

He frowned slightly before cracking open a single eye. He couldn't make sense of the black spread across his chest or why it would be that heavy. And that noise… He opened the other eye when he finally realized what exactly it was putting pressure on his chest.

He and Mei must have fallen asleep on the couch last night talking about their wedding—

A smile immediately stretched across the Ambassador's face.

Their wedding.

Wedding.

He was going to marry the amazing woman who was softly snoring on his chest. Al had of course known for some time now that that was what he wanted. That was what he wanted more than just about anything in his life. But it had never seemed like it could ever actually happen.

Last night however…

He still almost wasn't sure if it was real. It had seemed too good to be true. She had told him that she would make the sacrifices she needed to to make it happen. She would let the Elders have some of their pet projects. She'd go along with some of their moves. If that wasn't enough, she would act without their approval. They had both been trying to be so cautious about their whole relationship, and now she was throwing caution to the wind.

A part of him was still reeling in shock. But he didn't care. He knew that it would be heartbreaking if things fell apart. It was one of the reasons why he had never really entertained it as a real possibility, because he knew if it didn't happen… he would be crushed.

But as she shifted slightly and took a deep breath, a sign he had come to recognize as her about to work, he dedicated himself fully to it. It would hurt like crazy if it didn't work out, but he didn't want to taint the joy of this moment for cynicism.

Wedding. Marriage. He was going to spend the rest of his life with Mei Chang, the woman he had loved for years. They could have children. Their children might not ever have a chance at the throne, in fact it might even be the smartest choice to say that they could never be heirs, but they could have them and they wouldn't be cause for Mei's entire reign being called into question and her getting kicked off the throne.

Mei shifted again, rubbing her nose and then sleepily blinking her eyes a few times. She seemed to stare at his chest for a while as if confused as to why her pillow was moving, then shifted her head up to look at him.

"Al?"

"Empress," he said with a smile. "Good morning."

"But…"

"We must have fallen asleep last night talking about our wedding."

She blinked once in confusion, but then her face immediately broke into a wide smile. "Our wedding. I was afraid that was a dream."

"So was I, honestly," he confessed, raising a hand to run his fingers through the hair at the base of her neck. "So I'm quite relieved you knew what I was talking about. It would have been terrible if you had said you had no idea what I was talking about."

Mei smiled again, then pulled herself up higher so her head was over his instead of resting on his chest.

"It was real," she assured him. "And I meant every word."

She bent down and pressed her lips against his. It was gentle, almost relaxed. Assured in the promise that there would be many more to come. Al had just reached up to grip her waist when there was a knock on the door and they broke apart with a jerk, both looking towards the door.

"Your Highness."

Mei quickly rolled off of Al, landing on her hands and knees on the ground.

"Hide," she hissed at Al. "They can't know yet or they'll think I'm trying to marry you for different reasons."

Al didn't waste any time nodding or making a different form of acknowledgement, just flipped over the couch and crouched there, waiting.

"What is it, Hai?"

Al recognized the sound of the doors opening, the sound of feet and accompanying silence as the man bowed before speaking.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid the Elders have called a very urgent meeting with you. They would not tell me the full extent of what they were worried about, but they seem very frightened."

"Of course. I will be there as soon as I dress."

"No, Your Majesty, they are all outside the door. It is a very pressing matter."

"They're here?"

"They needed to speak with you immediately. Half of them did not have time to dress themselves."

There was a pause, and Al knew Mei was considering her options.

"Alright. Let them in."

Hai must have turned around to walk back to the door, because Mei walked around the couch under the pretense of picking up her crown, but hissed to Al, "Get under my bed."

He glanced quickly out from the edge of the couch and quickly dove under her bed, not too far away from the couch that they had slept on. It might have been possible for someone to see his foot as he wiggled the rest of the way under the bed, but he wasn't too worried because the Elders would be focused on Mei rather than her bed. He had to lay completely flat to fit, but all the same he managed to position himself behind the red banner that fell from the bed to the floor. It meant he couldn't see anything other than the swirling gold pattern, but it was better than being seen.

There was the patter of feet and then a chorus of "Your Majesty"s as the Elders filed in.

"What is this urgent business?"

"The railroad protests, Your Majesty. They have escalated into armed conflict."

"Armed conflict?"

"It was discovered that several of the protesters were planning an uprising, Your Majesty, and when Imperial Troops discovered this and began making arrests, it became a full confrontation. The managed to take the garrison where the Imperial Troops were stationed; they obtained all of the weapons there. They have more weapons beside, we're not sure where they got them, but they are very heavily armed and last we received intelligence, they were moving on the capitol of the Wuli Clan."

"When was this?" Mei asked sharply. Al couldn't see her, but he was sure her eyebrows were nearly touching with the strength of her frown.

"That was about three hours ago, Your Majesty. They also cut telephone lines, so the news took several hours to get here. We cannot contact them and give directions unless by slower means."

"Is the capitol prepared for such an attack?"

"The Wuli Clan is one of the poorer clans, Your Majesty. They will likely fall."

"And if they ask for support from the surrounding clans, they will likely receive it. Even though the surrounding clans have not been as upset about the railroad, they have been badly hit by famine and are looking for a way to strike back. They will find support Your Majesty, I'm certain of it."

Al caught a glimpse of Mei's feet walking past the bed, which meant she was heading for a table she had in her room covered with documents and maps. Several other pairs of feet moved after her.

"But if the Wuli Clan falls to revolutionaries, then the Chin and the Song will likely support them. And the Song have always been close with the Xian, so they will join them as well. The Huang, Jiang, Yan, Erxi, Sun, Ma… they're all likely to support an uprising like that. That's a fifth of the clans, we can't afford that many turning against us. Especially not in armed conflict."

"Exactly why we came to you Your Majesty."

"I suggest we marshal the army, and quickly. The forces in all of the clans likely to revolt need to be notified immediately. The clans close to Wuli that aren't likely to turn revolutionary, we need to tell them to march on the clan and secure it. If we can contain it at the beginning before it gets out of hand, there will be less bloodshed," one of the Elders said, quickly inputting his opinion.

"I agree with Xiong, Your Majesty, except that I feel we should pull the forces from all of the nearby clans so they can get there immediately. We can send reinforcements to the other clans in case they try to revolt themselves."

"We need to send reinforcements directly to Wuli."

"That may be too late!"

Al wished he knew the Elders by their voices better. He couldn't tell which one was saying what because he couldn't see them. Lien-ti had a distinctive voice, so he knew that he had spoken yet, but the rest of them he got easily confused simply because for as long as he had been speaking Xingese, he still had problems telling voices apart until he had listened to them for a very long time.

"Quiet!" Mei snapped at all of them, and they all fell silent. The silence stretched on for nearly a full minute before Mei spoke quietly.

"Fuan, contact Pi-ling Pho and have him send his to Wuli. Also speak with Wie Liang and tell him to send his troops to the outlying clans. We reinforce both."

"That will leave the Palace nearly defenseless, Your Majesty."

"We are far enough from the uprising that doesn't concern me. If we are successful then the troops return to us without any further harm. If they do not, then we pull troops from the Northern clans."

"Your Majesty," one of the elders who hadn't spoken yet said, almost sheepishly. "I'm afraid to report that things in the North are devolving too. Even if they themselves have not already reacted to the news of the Uprising, they will be cracking, Your Highness. It is likely that if Wuli falls to rebels and we do nothing about it that the northern clans will likely join them in some form of revolt."

"Why were we not notified of this earlier!"

"It is my fault, Your Highness. I thought I could contain the issues on my own. The northern clans have always been so much more prosperous, I thought that it would be a simple matter."

"In that case, it is our priority to keep this contained. If we can keep it contained in Wuli, then the odds of it growing in to a full revolution are slim. Mobilization is priority. Contact the army in the surrounding clans and send them there. We'll send our reinforcements to those clans to keep the other clans from rebelling in protest."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

There were other choruses of agreement. "What do we tell the other courtiers?"

"The truth," Mei said firmly. "They need to be prepared in case it does spread, especially those from clans that are at risk. A few of them any be implicit in these revolts, but the majority would probably end up being victims just like the Baos. We don't need any more of them being killed. I will announce it myself in court. Hold an emergency session."

"Very well, Your Highness."

"I will get dressed and be in the throne room as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Al saw the feet walk past the bed again, heard the murmured farewells of the Elders, and then the close of the door behind them. He waited a few moments just in case one of them had stayed behind but there was silence so he pulled himself out from under the bed.

Mei had disappeared into her dressing room where she had to be be pulling on some court robes. Al waited patiently for her, and sure enough, when she emerged she was dressed in full Imperial regalia, crown seated on her head. She didn't have her usual army of hair dressers with her, so she had simply braided her hair in one long braid that fell down her back. Her crown was seated on her head.

"Al. I forgot you were here."

"Mei…"

"I don't know," she said, anticipating his thoughts. "If we can keep it contained, it shouldn't be too big of a problem. My fear is it not staying contained."

"If it doesn't?"

"… I don't know."


	23. Chapter 23

**This chapter took a lot longer to write than I thought it would. Hopefully I can get the rest hammered out pretty quickly because I actually have some more plans for them than I did for this one.**

* * *

_1 August 1925_

Al was in the throne room waiting for a court meeting to start when they got news that the Wuli Capitol had fallen.

It wasn't announced, but when there was one thing that he knew the entire palace was waiting to hear news about and court was postponed because the Empress was detained with an emergency meeting with the Elders due to the emergence of recent news, well, he wasn't an idiot.

He wanted to go find her, but he knew that she wouldn't be taking audiences with an Amestrian Ambassador right now. In fact, he was starting to be excluded from more and more information these days in the palace. The Elders and several of the courtiers seemed to try to keep in the in the dark about what was going on, probably afraid that he would report the rebellion back to Amestris which would cause Amestrian creditors to lose faith in the nation's ability to pay back their loans. Or perhaps keep investment money away.

It wasn't an entirely unfounded fear. Al had in fact reported the rebellion back to Fuhrer Mustang; that was his job after all. But he had at the same time sworn Mustang to secrecy until he could figure out more about the things were playing out. He still had hope that they would be able to figure things out, and he didn't want capital to be flowing away from Xing. He had spent nearly a third of his career as Ambassador trying to convince Amestrian businessmen to invest in Xingese infrastructure, he wouldn't be the one to keep it away.

Mustang had however confessed to Al that he already had a number of operatives in Xing to keep an eye on the situation. He was annoyed that Al hadn't been forthwith about how bad the protests had been getting – Al had protested that he hadn't reported it because he hadn't thought it was as bad as it apparently was – but understood that he might have gotten… distracted.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Al had asked, realizing even as he said it that he sounded far too much like Ed, a point Mustang did not fail to point out.

"Careful, Alphonse, you're beginning to sound like your brother before one of his short rants. There's no one to blame, I figured it out myself. I know all about the crush the Empress had on you when she was still a Princess. When I came for the treaty signing, I saw how beautiful she had become and put how hard you were working together with the rest of it. Does she return your feelings?"

"Yes."

"Well congratulations. I hope for the both of you that this works out. But don't think I'm going to pull my spies out. I'd have to be a fool to keep only one operative in there, especially if he's bound to follow the rules of international cooperation. If you get kicked out, they can still there be keeping an eye on things."

"Kicked out? Why would you think I'd be kicked out?"

"The last thing I would want if there was a coup or a rebellion going on would be an Ambassador snooping around. It looks bad and it gives a bad impression to other countries. Actually, Al, I did want to warn you that… if things start to get bad, I am going to pull you out. Officially, you have no reason to be there other than being an Ambassador, and if I leave you in there when I know that the situation is precarious and you're hurt, I end up looking like I don't care about my men. Unless you have an official reason to stay there, I have to pull you out if things get bad."

"I understand." Mustang had given a brief farewell which Al had returned, whispering only once the operator thanked him for the call and he hung up the phone, "Hopefully… I'll have one soon."

* * *

_8 August 1925_

The news that the Imperial troops had been defeated in Wuli had further reaching consequences that Al had anticipated. It meant that all of the extra forces that had been sent immediately to the capital had been incapacitated. Not everyone was dead, but many of the men had been captured and held in the Wuli Palace's dungeons, apparently one of the last ones left in the country as a remnant from before the War of Unification.

The Palace had already been harboring many of the nation's nobles, but now even more of them were rushing to safety within the Palace walls. Many of them, however, were underwhelmed with the actual reinforcements provided by the Empress. Protecting the Palace, as of yet far away from any of the fighting, was a lower priority than that of trying to keep them from losing any more ground than they already had.

If anything though, the changing territory had only become more apparent. Not even a full day after receiving the news that the Rebels had officially taken possession of the Wuli Province they began to get reports about other clans declaring their support to the rebellion. Some of them were even starting to call it a full scale Revolution. The nobles that weren't fleeing their home territories for the Palace all seemed to be coming from those clans. The gossip among the courtiers was that they had declared their own allegiance to avoid being overthrown and killed themselves if their citizens were upset enough to overthrow them.

Some of the courtiers muttered that they would be executed for treason when this blew over.

Other courtiers wondered if it would blow over.

Apparently there wasn't a single train to Amestris these days that wasn't packed full of Xingese people trying to escape before things turned really ugly. In fact, several of the trains were packed past full capacity. Al wasn't sure if he would be able to get out of Xing even if Mustang did decide pull him out.

Things were getting bad.

Understandably, he hadn't been seeing much of his fiancé

Fiancé.

It seemed crazy that he could still smile and probably even crazier to think about it as such a viable reality with everything with all of this going on. But he had to keep hoping that it was a real future for him. For them.

After everything they had been through, it seemed like a light at the end of the tunnel. Their finally Happily Ever After.

Yes, he had read some of the novels that Mei had suggested – and yes, they were the ones that inspired her fantastical visions of Ed. They were very entertaining.

And he loved a happy ending.

Every time it looked like he got a happy ending in his life, things got worse. He and Ed learned enough alchemy to bring their mom back – Ed's leg and Al's body were stolen. Philosopher's Stone dead ends. Nina. Hughes. Even the Promised Day and getting his body back was quickly followed by the Great War. Confessing his love to Mei was followed by a year and a half of separation and then more years of hiding in bushes and under beds.

He didn't have any reason to believe that this would be any different. But he did still cling to the idea that the Happy Endings themselves were worth it. Even if they weren't actually endings and they were usually followed by something worse, at least he had those moments to look back on. He had the moments themselves. And things getting worse afterwards couldn't take them away.

So even if their odds weren't looking too great right now, he had to cling to the hope that it would end up alright. He had to.

That night was the first time he had actually been alone with Mei since the night they had agreed to get married, and as he had come to expect when stressful situations arose, she was tense and not saying much. He wanted to reach out to her, but he didn't know how to do it.

The worst part was the fact that he knew she didn't truly want to be there with him. That wasn't the best way to put it; it wasn't so much that she didn't want to be with him as much as he knew she would rather be working on the problem, trying to figure things out. But he had overheard Fuan talking to another one of the Elders that there wasn't much they could do right now except wait for more information.

So he had found Mei in her rooms and luckily enough for him the guards were fine with letting him in. Apparently they trusted him enough by now to be left alone with the Empress without much question. She had let him in and let him kiss her quickly, but she left him almost immediately to go stare at reports and maps. He tried to ask her a few questions and understand the exact situation, but she didn't respond much. He eventually resorted to just rubbing her shoulders to try to help relieve some of the stress.

It wasn't as if she didn't have a legion of servants that would perfectly willing to rub her shoulders and neck for her. But she was too proud to ask, and Al enjoyed doing it for her when she wasn't expecting it.

She had fallen silent for the past few minutes and Al took that as a good sign, before he noticed her hands clenching the side of the table with white knuckles.

"Mei?"

"Please stop, Alphonse." He blinked in surprised, but removed his hands from her shoulders.

"I'm sorry I just wanted to help. What do you want me to do?"

She silent for a few long moments before turning around to face him.

"How can you be so good?"

"What?"

"How, Al? How can you be so… kind?"

"I just want to help…" he said, still not entirely understanding what in particular she was trying to refer to.

"It seems like the entire world is falling apart and I'm doing nothing but stringing you along… and you're still here."

"I love you. It's not really much of a question."

"I know you do, which is why I don't understand why you're not mad at me." He gave her another blank look, making her look down at the ground. It gave him a better view of her crown than it did of her face. "Our marriage, Al."

"Oh." His heart twitched in his chest, but he quickly forced a smile onto his face. "Well, it's not like you could control these things. And I'm not going to lie and say I'm not a bit disappointed, but we've waited this long, right?"

She looked up slowly from the ground, and he noticed that she was frowning.

"Al… I don't think you… understand."

"No, I completely do. Now is not exactly the best time for us to try to go through with something like that after all. We can wait until after this whole Revolution thing has played itself out. But like I said, we made it this far, we can wait a few more months or even a year. Whatever it takes. Maybe it's not the way we imagined it happening, but something is better than nothing, rig—"

"Al. Stop." He was taken aback by her abrupt interrupting.

"Mei?"

"Al…. you don't get it."

"What am I not getting, Mei?"

"We can't get married."

Al stared at his fiancé… or at least that's what he thought that's what she was.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… Al." She bit her lip and then took a deep breath. "Al… We can't get married. It's not a matter of waiting a few years until the rebellion blows over. I'm not even sure if it will. And even if it does… Al, what started the rebellion was workers protesting how much power Amestrians have in my country. The famine and the corruption has given it all the support it needed, but the actual rebellion started because my people see me as the person that let Xing become a puppet of the Amestrians."

He opened his mouth to protest, but she kept talking and didn't even give him a chance to start.

"And you know and I know that I agreed to letting them have so much influence in our economy because I wanted to help Xing. But that's not what matters. And I love you. I love you so much. But after that… I can't marry an Amestrian. I just can't."

Al stared at her, somewhat blankly. He realized dumbly that the reason he might not be able to think correctly could be related to the fact that he had stopped breathing.

"Oh."

They… couldn't get married. At all. The words didn't quite make sense to him yet. He finally took a breath, and the oxygen gave him enough focus to hear Mei saying his name softly. He ignored her in favor of taking a step backwards, then turning around and walking to the couch where she had proposed to him.

"Al, I'm sorry. But that's the way it has to be."

He continued to ignore her, resting his forehead against one hand. They couldn't get married. Not at all. That entire happy ending… gone. The light at the end of the tunnel, extinguished. Just like that.

"Al, please talk to me."

He had been so sure that time that it was going to happen. She said she'd do whatever she needed to to make sure that they could get married. She'd fight whoever she needed to in court, give any of the Elders whatever boon they wanted. Then this rebellion happened and all of a sudden it all disappeared.

"Do you think this rebellion is going to end the Empire?"

Mei had sat down next to him while he had been trying to work through what her words meant. She seemed startled when he suddenly said something and stared intently at her.

"What?"

"Do you think the rebellion is going to be successful? Is it going to be a Revolution?"

"I… I don't know. I'm afraid I will. But Al—"

"Let's run away."

Now instead of just startled, she looked at him like he was crazy. Or from another planet. Or asked her to give up the crown sitting on her head. "What?"

"Let's just run away, Mei. What if they're successful? They might kill you! But we could run away. Go to Amestris. Get married there where no one will care if you favor or marry an Amestrian. We could do it. Let's just go," he plead, grabbing her hands. She pulled them out of his grasp, still looking aghast.

"Have you gone mad, Al? I can't just abandon my people!"

"Your people are abandoning you, Mei. I just want you to be safe." This apparently had the opposite effect of what he had intended because she pulled back even further from him, standing up.

"How dare you?"

"Mei?"

"How could you say something like that, Al?" He thought more carefully over what he just said and his immediate reaction was to smack his forehead and apologize profusely.

"Mei, I… I didn't mean—"

"Please leave."

"What?"

Her back was turned to him, but even more than just her back, he could tell that her chin was raised and shoulders back. He recognized that posture all too well. That was the posture she took when she was being the Empress. When she was cutting him out.

"Leave."

"Mei, don't do this to me. Not again."

"I said leave."

He stared at her back for several long moments, it felt like a good month or so, before he stood up stiffly. Al was not a person who got angry very easily. Unlike his brother's explosive temper, it took a lot to drive Al to the point of yelling and he was desperately trying to keep a lid on that emotion. She was doing it again. She was cutting herself off from her emotions and trying to separate herself from her own life. She did it every time she was stressed out instead of reaching out and it only ever hurt her and he hated to see her hurt, but he couldn't stop it when she wouldn't let him in!

"Fine, Empress. I will leave. But not before I finish what I want to say."

"I find your actions very impertinent, Ambassador," she said turning around to face him.

"It's Ambassador, now? Less than a week ago, you said you wanted to marry me, and now I'm 'Ambassador'." Once upon a time he would have found the way she straightened her spine to try to stand taller cute, especially since she was still several inches shorter than Al.

"I thought I told you to leave."

"I will, but not before I speak my mind. I regret what I said about running away. It was said in a moment of haste and I should have known better than to say it all. Because just like every other Emperor or Empress before you, you're so desperate to hold onto your position that you'll sacrifice anyone and everything in your path. I thought I could help you, be something for you to hold on to, but you consistently let me down. And I can handle that. I'm not going to say I enjoy it, because I hate every moment of it, but I'll let you mistreat me if it means I can be a support for you.

"But I cannot stand by and watch as you sacrifice yourself anymore. Your people are very important and you should want to do your best for them, but you are killing yourself. You have to stop."

"You don't understand," she spat back. "They are more important than I will ever be. If I kill myself in their service, it's a worthy sacrifice."

"I know a thing or two about _sacrifices_, Mei."

"Then you should understand this one!"

"I got lucky, Mei! I should have died when we tried to bring my mom back! I shouldn't even be here and it's only because of Ed and a lot of luck and kind people that I am! I don't think you'll be that lucky!"

"Then leave! If you can't stand to watch it, _then leave_!"

Al took a deep breath. Then, he bowed. "Very well, Empress. I said what I wanted to. I'll leave."

Then he spun on his heel and marched out of her room and straight to his own. He didn't even stop to think, just pulled out his suitcase and began to throw things in. He was already on a train heading to the Yao Province by the time he really stopped and thought that maybe he should have left a note so the servants would know not to clean his room the next morning.


End file.
